Deus Ex Machina
by Gloryscream
Summary: *CH12*The kaitous- along with a new one- are forced to deal with new powers that have risen. Secrets are told and feelings revealed in moments of tragedy or despair. Please Read and Review.
1. Chapter 1

Broken Melody

Chapter 1-Checkmate!

~~~~~~~~~~

Ello! That is not a typo.. just me being me. Always a dangerous thing, even more so when I have a headache and my evil sister is blaring a song I'm not fond of. ANYWAYS, all losers are copyright their respective owners unless specified. Blah, Blah, Blah. Please review.

"_I will never see the sky the same way, and I will learn to say good-bye to yesterday._"-Vanessa Carlton, Twilight

~~~~~~~~~

Kaitou Jeanne ran through the night, chasing after the demon. It had possessed a golden necklace, and it was a real pity to lose such a pretty thing. But, if she didn't, the little girl would die. She skidded to a sudden stop, and leapt into a tree, a flash of white and blond hair. Miyako and the police had set up a series of traps, nothing too complex, but enough to make her wary. Her violet eyes scanned the surroundings, making a mental map. With that, she jumped out of the tree to finish up the night. Or she started to jump, at least.

"Scared of a few kid traps, Jeanne?" Sindbad said mockingly, after grabbing her arm in midair. She started to scream, but her covered her mouth with his other hand, which she promptly bit. He released and glared at her. His light blue hair glistened in the moonlight, and her silver eyes looked down mockingly at her. Why did he have to be so damn good looking? She did what seemed sensible- turned and ran. He tried to stop her, but she was smaller and faster. He cursed as she dodged the police, grinning all the while. After her blond ponytail had snapped around the corner of the doorway, her face poked out again, tongue stuck out rudely.

With that the beautiful thief disappeared into the dark building.

Jeanne's white boots padded softly on the tile floor, her eyes desperately trying to make out some of the random shapes that filled the pitch-black house. Her hands finally found a doorway, and she entered the room, knowing it held the demon. Inside the room(which actually had a light on), Jeanne saw the necklace being held in the hands of a small girl. Toying absently with the necklace, the girl just stared. 

"Checkmate," Jeanne said softly, and threw the white pin. It hit dead on, but something extraordinary happened. The demon stayed in the necklace long enough for the girl to say,

"You're falling for him."

With that the demon became a white pawn, and the girl passed out. But her words stayed with Jeanne as she numbly snuck home. Sindbad was thinking of the her as he did the same. Both were so wrapped up in their thoughts that they did not notice the dark shadow. The dark shadow watching them with a thin smirk of satisfaction.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Maron! Wake up! We're going to be late again!" Miyako yelled into her friend's apartment, and through the door. After five more minutes of constant pounding, she noticed a note on the floor. It read:

Miyako, I got up early today because… I didn't want to be late? Anyways, your constant pounding on my door will probably knock this off before you notice it- try not to be too late!-Maron.

"Damnit, Maron!" Miyako screamed, before running off at top speed towards the school. Chiaki was walking slowly towards school as she ran, and because she was looking at the ground, Miyako ran right into him.

"Where's Maron?" he asked, looking around for the brunette girl as her purple-haired friend dusted her uniform skirt off.

"Already at school," Miyako muttered, and ran off, Chiaki not far behind. Amazingly, they made it to school on time. In the classroom, Maron was writing something, her brown hair a curtain around her face. Chiaki poked her with the eraser of his pencil, but she didn't glance up. He kept on poking,b ut she just took the pencil and poked him back with much more force. School, throughout the rest of the day, was like any other school day. Until right before the last bell rang.

"I have an announcement to make," the teacher* announced. "Tommorrow our transfer student arrives. She's from America, but speaks at least a little Japanese. Please treat her with respect and welcome her to her new school and home. Kusakabe-san, I trust you will show her around?"

"Yes, sensei**," Maron replied quietly, and went back to writing whatever she'd been writing all day long. Then the final bell rang, and there was a stampede to get out the door and to extracurricular activities. Maron and Miyako rushed off together to gymnastics. While Miyako worked on her routine, Maron stood on her hands on the balance beam. Occasionally she would swing her legs down and take a short break, but other than that, she remained motionless.

After activities, Chiaki, maron, and Miyako walked home together. They all lived in the same apartment building, which was lucky for Miyako(she got to see Chiaki, who she liked, and Maron, who was her best friend more) and Chiaki(his apartment was right next Maron's, who he liked, and across from Miyako's, who liked him.) It was however, unlucky for Maron, as she was constantly being bugged by Chiaki, and just as constantly threatening to move if he didn't leave her alone.

Anyways.

Now that we have our twisted love triangle thing sorted out, let's get on with the story.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Maron sighed and flopped down on her bed. Finally, a night without a demon! But, she realized she had nothing to do. And so she went to bed early, catching up on lost sleep. Chiaki spent most of the night on his balcony, waiting for his object of obsession, Maron, to come out so he could talk to her. Miyako, however, stayed up the latest, trying to figure out who Jeanne was.

~~~~~~~~~~  
  


The next day, Maron was early again. _I hope she's not going to make a habit of not telling me when she's going to be on time,_ Miyako thought angrily as she stomped towards the elevator. At school, the teacher announced that the transfer student's flight had been canceled, so she would probably arrive in about a week. Nobody really cared, though. She was Gaijiin, and probably a preppy cheerleader that bounced around in next to nothing. Maron was quiet throughout the day, ignoring Chiaki's desperate attempts to get her to go out with him, while he, in turn, was (more politely) ignoring Miyako's attempts on the same matter. They were an odd trio, that they were. A brown-haired-and-eyed girl, a purple haired girl with greenish-gray eyes, and the blue-haired boy with amber eyes. But they were friends…I think.

"Maron, because we're friends, will you go out with me?" Chiaki pleaded during lunch, ignoring random snickers. She simply raised an eyebrow, and stared.

"One, that made absolutely no sense. Two, you can only stretch friendship so far before somebody kills you." She retorted, continuing to eat, and looking very smug that she'd gotten the last word. And so days go by, and soon it is the day that the transfer student was to arrive came.

~~~~~~~

"She's here," the teacher stated simply, and was opened the door to reveal a blue-haired girl with blue eyes, wearing a blue outfit. She said nothing.

"Well," the teacher said. "Introduce yourself,"

The girl stared silently, then finally spoke in a soft voice. "N.I.G.H.T. Nagoya Indigo Gin Hermione Tama." The girl said flatly, and, as one, the class turned their heads to stare at Chiaki. The teacher, to say the least, was surprised.

"Well, it looks like we have a brother-sister pair in this class. Are you close?" she stated cheerfully, trying to break the uncomfortable silence. The girl shrugged.

"I guess as close as we can be when I'm being tossed from country to country, and he forgot I existed." She stated sarcastically, then marched to an empty desk, and didn't speak a word for the rest of that sunny Friday.

~~~~~~~  
  


Whee~e. I know this chapter is short, but I **needed** to get this out. Title is subject to change, so it sucks to be you non-existent readers. If anyone's wondering(yeah right), I have no clue what 'Nagoya' means(I'll try to find out by chapter 1), Indigo is her first name, Gin is Japanese for silver, Tama is Japanese for soul, and she says  her last name first because that's the way it is in Japan. 

-Knife thrower


	2. Chapter 2

Broken Melody

Chapter 2

Back to Loneliness

_"And it hurts to want everything, and nothing at the same time. I want what's yours and I want what's mine"-_Michelle Branch_, Goodbye to you_

Welcome to chapter 2! Ignore the typo in the first chapter and the A.N. at the bottom of the chapter. You know the one that says, 'I'll try to find out by chapter 1' I meant chapter two. And I didn't find out, because I did most of this chapter at my grandparents' house, which meant no Internet.

Anyways, I want to thank Katra, for being so supportive and trying to think of reasons **why** no one is reviewing Golden Roads. Peoples, it's a good story. Also, my friends at school; Lance, for never making fun of me and being so nice, Kristyn, for being an excellent friend and way supportive of me always writing angst poems, Alyssa, for being amazingly super hyper and funny (like me). Please review!

Also, I never explained the stars (*) in Chapter one. I cannot for the life of me remember the teacher's name, so please review and tell me. 'Sensei' is Japanese for 'Teacher'

BTW, Lance is a friend from school that I share two things in common that I can't share with anyone else- DOA3 and karate (ignoring the fact we study different styles)

Every character in this story with the expectance of Antonia, Marie, Lance, and Indigo are copyrighted to their respective owners.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On Saturday, Nagoya Chiaki awoke to the sounds of unfamiliar voices, laughter, and something heavy being dragged. Rolling out of bed, he made a loud_ thunk_, and he heard one of the people attempt to stifle giggles. _Female, definitely, _he noted, and heard a second voice that could just as easily be noted as male.

"Now, Indy-Chan{1}, it's not polite to laugh at other people's misfortunes." The male voice said, and Chiaki figured there must be three voices- a mother, a child, and a father. He was proved wrong in a moment.

"You're supposed to be my bodyguard, not my mother." The girl retorted sharply. "Dad's afraid that someone will assassinate his youngest child. How can they? He doesn't let the public know I exist." She then started babbling rapidly in what sounded like English, but Chiaki wasn't awake enough to pick out any words he might know. She then switched to French, and finally back to Japanese. "Anyways, if anyone wanted to seriously piss off Kaiki{2}, they'd kill Chiaki. He hates me enough as it is. He'd probably leap with joy. It's my parents in France, Ireland, and America. They'd just die if something happened to me."

"What about me, Indy-chan?" The man asked mockingly. "I'd kill the person who killed you. If I had to, for my fifth daughter." The girl, whom he'd **finally** figured out was his sister, laughed merrily "So many families adopt me! And I'm only talking about the _official_ thing, with papers and everything. And you. Of course you count, Lance-chan!" she said.

He poked his head silently out of his doorway, watching 'Lance' drag a blue suitcase, and his sister follow behind, wearing a blue short sleeved T-shirt with an SL wound next to each other and a gold cross, a black, blue, gold and white plaid pleated skirt, knee-socks and school shoes. He also noticed the tiny little details, like the fact her shirt was untucked, her knee-socks had random scribbles on them, and her shoes were scuffed. She was chewing bubble gum, and would occasionally blow a huge bubble. She came to the door next to his, and pulled out a key-ring with key-chains on it. She swiftly unlocked the door, and disappeared into the formerly empty apartment. He heard the sounds of a phone ringing faintly in the background, and his 'sister' picked up the receiver.

"Moshi Moshi{3}?" she said in Japanese, then squealed and began babbling very rapidly in what he could only guess was French.

"You want to test your Japanese?" she finally said in Japanese. Then, "I see. So, how's Paris? Is Gregoire-Jean still your ballet teacher and partner? You know, after the whole Jean-Paul thing. Yeah. Uh-huh. Well, my brother is currently eavesdropping, so…. Which one? The 'real' one. The one I haven't seen since I was three. Yeah, him. How's Marie? Is she still getting nightmares? Ouch, it's insomnia now. I have no clue what she did to deserve this. Visit here one day and tell me how the orphanage is. Have you e-mailed Cam recently? Oh, Antonia, I'm so sorry. Yeah, she was an evil witch anyways. You have to go now, right? Long distance- Paris to Tokyo. This sucks, Antonia. I'll e-mail you the second those lazy-ass movers bring my laptop up, O.K.? I miss you! Bye," she said, and then hung up.

"Chiaki," she yelled through the wall, "That was Antonia, my best friend from France. She's really sweet, it's such a pity... Your purple-haired girlfriend is really weird, you know that? And who the heck is 'Jeanne' and why does she want to catch her?" 

"What's a pity? She's not my girlfriend," he hollered back.

He turned to his balcony door, and on his balcony was his sister, grinning triumphantly. He groaned.

It was going to be a very long morning.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Movers had been bringing Indigo's stuff up all morning, and they were getting pissed off at her refusal to call them anything except 'lazy-ass movers'. She was walking out the door at the same time that Maron was walking out to. Her face brightened, and an evil grin appeared on her pale face. But Maron hurried away, and Indigo sighed. People in France had been willing to make a friend out of the transfer student. Then again, she may have come to Japan too late in the school year; cliques were already established. She'd be the girl hiding in the shadows again.

"I really wish I was back at _any_ of my homes." She said to no one in particular, then sighed. "No where, Now here."

_I want to wander around town, but there's nowhere to go,_ she thought, still standing outside her doorway. She brightened when the movers brought her laptop up. _Now I can e-mail all my friends-If my laptop lets me type in three different languages._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Maron heard rather than saw the blue-haired transfer student. She was staring into space with an odd look on her face. Maron simply hurried off to gymnastics practice, wondering briefly why the girl looked so lost. She belonged here.

Didn't she?

Maron had never felt _she _belonged, and she'd grown up in Tokyo. Indigo had, if all assumptions were correct, lived in about four different countries. She obviously had never belonged.

So if she didn't belong here in her birth-town, where_ did_ she belong?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chiaki heard Maron leave her apartment, and he also heard Access snickering at him for missing his chance. The black-winged angel was currently rolling with laughter in mid-air.

"Baka," he stated firmly, "You'll never get her now. Your sister will convince her to stay away from you. And since now you actually like her, that 's a good thing, since you won't be breaking her heart." Chiaki tried to grab the stupid 'angel', but found him to be too small and fast. Attempting to ignore Access' taunts, he set to work on homework.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Maron walked down the stairs, ignoring the elevator, humming. It was a bright and sunny Saturday morning- what could go wrong?

Quite a few things, as it turned out.

For one, she didn't accidentally on purpose run into Chiaki, which darkened her day enough. Thank God for balconies. Then, Miyako got mad at her because she forgot she was supposed to meet her in the lobby to go shopping together. So she was forced to suffer through yet _another_ rant about Jeanne. All she was thinking was that it's really hard to listen to your best friend say things against your other side. And then it turned out that there was supposed to be a checkmate that night. But maybe we should skip to there……

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sun sank slowly, resting its fiery head against the horizon and slipping the cover of darkness over the world. Maron crept onto her balcony, and jumped off silently. In mid-air, she transformed into Jeanne, and landed safely, despite the fact that her apartment was on the seventh floor. Her white-fabric boots made little to no noise as she crept through the streets of Tokyo. She heard Sindbad and Access behind her, and grinned. She'd found a shortcut yesterday, and she knew it was time to use it.

At the next corner, she ducked into an alleyway. Making sure Sindbad hadn't heard her, she hopped onto the wall, and walked cautiously across. Hopping onto a rooftop, she began to run, her feet barely touching the roofs and making very little noise. She, to no huge surprise, arrived at the scene that the checkmate was to occur first. _No noticeable way in,_ she thought, _But I'll find one, even if it means hopping from one streetlamp to another._ In the end, she found a window that had been overlooked, and silently crept in.

Sindbad cursed as he noticed that Jeanne had already disappeared into the large building. He leapt silently into a large tree, observing all the traps Miyako had put up in an effort to catch the two elusive kaitous. He prepared to jump out of the tree, but a shadowed figure whizzed over his head into the next treetop, hopping above all the traps Miyako had taken great care to set up. It was pretty funny, actually.

Wait a second.

If Jeanne was in the building, then who the hell was the shadow?

As she leapt through the last tree, she did a flip with her knees tucked in, unfolded, and landed primly and silently on a street lamp. _Good Lord, she's a frickin' gymnast. Not another one._ While he was contemplating her acrobatic abilities, she jumped onto the first-story roof, crawled up to the second-story roof, and smashed a skylight when she went through it. Miyako spun around, as did the others, and in a flash Chiaki realized she was making a distraction to get him into the building. He just shrugged and slipped silently into the building. Inside, he saw two girls standing in front of the painting- Kaitou Jeanne and the shadow.

The shadow snickered as he neared. _How did she hear me?_ Sindbad wondered, _even Jeanne didn't hear my footsteps._

"So," she said. "It nears." The shadow truly was odd. She wore a long, kimono-sleeved black shirt with blue and purple ribbons wrapped around her waist and arms. She wore a black kimono-style bow, the smaller bow being a dark purple, and a thin satin ribbon of navy blue. Her skirt was three layers, each one slightly shorter than the last. The bottom was black, the middle was navy blue, and the top was deep purple. She had black and blue ribbons flowing like satin water down to her knees. Her black fabric boots were much like Jeanne's, except with silver ribbons wrapping them up. She had her black hair in a braid with her bangs down to her shoulders, braided also; all braids had thin ribbons woven into them.

"I am not an it," he said indignantly, and she snorted.

"I wasn't talking about _you._ You are an insignificant little bug. I'm talking about Darkness." For some strange reason, he felt like 'darkness' was a name. She went back to absent-mindedly gazing at the portrait of a beautiful young lady. It was obviously the possessed item. For some odd reason, Jeanne was still staring at the portrait, unmoving. The shadow-girl saw where he was looking and grinned.

"She won't be like that forever. I just hit a paralyzing spot. Once I tap it again, she'll be fine. Now…" she trailed off, deep in thought. Without warning, she leaped at Chiaki and tapped his back in a very precise area. He found he couldn't move a muscle except his eyes, which were currently rolling around, searching for someone to help him. He felt incredibly stupid. The girl drew out a silver pin, and tossed it lazily at the picture. It hit, and the two original kaitous waited to see if the chess-piece was black or white. In a burst of silver light, the demon was checkmated, and two very odd things happened.

The picture remained the same.

The chess-piece was silver.

The portrait looked exactly the same; only Sindbad and Jeanne couldn't sense the demon. To a normal person, it would seem as if the shadow-girl had never been there.

The chess-piece was neither white nor black- the delicate shape was silver, glimmering gently in the palm of her hand. Both gasped. Everyone knew that chess was for two players, with two different colored pieces. When a third player joined with a new color, things got messy.

The shadow didn't move to help either one of them, just stood there, grinning triumphantly. 

"Who…. Are you?" Jeanne asked in a soft voice. The shadow blinked.

"I am Kaitou Nightmare, the queen of nightmares and all things that haunt them!" With that, she tapped Jeanne and Sindbad's backs, and darted out the window, all the while singing softly under her breath.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Monday morning, Indigo hummed as she got into her old school uniform. She didn't have to wear the Japanese school uniform because they didn't have any in her size yet. She skipped downstairs, where Lance was waiting for her. He handed her something and a glass of water, and she drained the water and swallowed whatever he gave her. Then, although it was still very early, they both walked out the door and headed towards the school.

Hours later, at the end of the school day, the class was assigned a partner project. By some twist of fate, there was an odd number of students in that class. Naturally, Indigo ended up on her own. The teacher made a big fuss, who would be willing to accept Indigo as a third person in their group? Indigo just shrugged it off and said she'd work alone. The teacher eventually gave in when she realized that no one wanted Indigo in their group. Lance picked Indigo up at the end of the day, and all was quiet as they walked back to the apartment building because every one else had clubs. They chattered aimlessly, and Indigo hugged him and waved good-bye from her balcony as he walked off.

She checked her e-mail; none of her friends had replied. She felt so cut off, so alone. She set to work on her homework, and by the time everyone else was heading home, she was long done. She settled down to play video games, but heard her brother and friends arriving 'home'. She wondered what it would be like to live in one country all your life, and know you had friends. Her friends in France and America were her closest and truest friends. And then there was Bryn, of course. She didn't want to think of how their relationship would suffer if she would be forced to stay in Japan as long as she thought she would be. Any other thoughts of friends and acquaintances were drowned out by Maron, Miyako and Chiaki arguing heatedly.                                                               

Chiaki was attempting to get Maron to go out with him, with Maron stubbornly refusing to and Miyako insisting that Chiaki go out with her instead. Indigo heard Maron say 'I give up!', and storm into her apartment, slamming the door behind her. She peeked out, and saw Miyako flounce off, and then Chiaki muttered, 'girls', shrugged, and went into his apartment. Indigo went back to her video game, all the while wondering why no one liked her.

Maron stormed off into her apartment, steam practically pouring out of her ears. Why couldn't Chiaki understand that Maron was refusing to go out with him because Miyako wanted to{4}? But noooooo, he insisted upon flirting with her and refusing to see! And sending her all those stupid notes. Okay, he was really cute. And really sweet in his own way. And yes, she really did want to be his girlfriend. But what about Miyako?

Chiaki was far less troubled than Maron. By now he had figured out why she didn't go out with him, it was just impossible to make her see that she shouldn't place other people's happiness above hers, especially when it made her so sad. Access was out, no doubt looking for Fin who was looking for demons…..

In the end, all three of the friends went to sleep. Indigo stayed up far later, however, contemplating how it was too late to make friends if it was only November. By midnight, however, she was far too tired to contemplate the socioeconomic divisions of High School, and finally went to sleep.

Her sleep, however, was plagued with nightmares of death and dismemberment of all people whom she holds dear. She also saw a man killing a young girl, sawing her head off then drinking her blood. Tossing and turning in her bed, she cried out softly. But no one was there to hear her. If she fell, no one would catch her. She was all alone in the largest apartment building in Japan.

When she fitfully awoke, she said to herself:

"It looks like I'm back to loneliness."

~~~~~~~

Bah. I do _not_ like this chapter. _. Icky stuff. I can't write Access, if you couldn't tell. Please review. Hey, I _told_ you the next chapter would be longer. Slightly over six pages, YAY!

Footnotes:

{1}'Indy-chan'- Lance is being affectionate. It's sort of a nickname you would give your daughter or niece, get it?

{2}Kaiki- I BELIEVE this is Chiaki's dad's name. If it isn't, tell me in a review.

{3}'Moshi Moshi' is the way to say 'Hello' when you answer the phone, but only when you answer the phone.

{4}SPOILER ALERT- In the episode where Maron skips school because she found out Chiaki was Sindbad and didn't want to face him, Miyako visits Maron and asks her why. Maron says they got in a fight because he lied to her, and Miyako says something like 'Maron, you were in love with Chiaki from the start, you just didn't admit because I thought I loved him.' That's where I'm basing this.

I still don't like this one, but if you review, I'll change my mind ^_^; To all you non-existent readers, I need reviews to keep me from committing suicide.

-Knife thrower 


	3. Chapter 3

Broken Melody

Chapter 3

Prelude to Darkness

"_As I walk to the beat of my heart and soul, I feel like letting go.  Oh, darling now, in my dreams you'll be tonight. Oh, Mr. Postman, now I have a sign. Here I have a letter, I know he's alright,"  'Oh Mr. Postman'-_ B*Witched

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I would like to say thank you to my two reviewers: Miki-to-you-Maiko and VillianM. Thank you!! *Huggles* Would any of you readers like to join the (very small) ranks of those who receive thanks? Anyways, unless specified otherwise in previous chapters or at the end, all characters and designs are copyright to their respective owners. I claim no ownership.

~~~~~~~

Darkness filled the castle. If you could call this evil fortress a castle. True, it maintained the common shape and wealth that a castle tends to, but it was somewhat in ruins. Tower crumbled under lightning and thunderbolts that were a result of the Leader's rage.

Kuraitama. Their master. Her full name being Kuraitama Shigin. And, oh, what a fitting name. Dark soul death silver was the translation, and just her first name sent shivers down her Servants' spines. Or it would, if they had any spines. She had a thick mane of wavy black hair, and cold red eyes. Her skin was a perfect shade of ivory, and she carried about her an air of power and cruelty. Inch-long blood red nails constantly pierced flesh and vein alike. Her Servants knew hat the nails were so red because they were stained by a constant flow of blood against them. Every time she was angry, she 'freshened up her nail-color'. And that's what she'd just finished doing. She waved at three of her Servants to remove the corpse, which looked like ten million needles had pierced it. The Servants' ears still rang with the cries of the now-dead one. A messenger scurried up to her, and told her something.

She scowled and clenched her fists, bringing her nails up to kill the messenger. However, she hesitated. She asked him something, the cold tones of her voice rolling neatly off her tongue and out of her mouth.

"I want this 'Nightmare Kaitou' corrupted," she said firmly. "And I want it done fast. Find the darkness in her heart and enlarge it. But please, don't screw this one up. I only want her evil when she transforms, because that's the point when she's most dangerous. Oh, and make sure she knows how to use weapons." With that, she turned on her heel and stalked out of the hall.

~~~~~~~~~~~

At that point, Chiaki, Maron, Miyako, and Indigo were in school. It was the end of the day, so no one was really paying attention. Indigo was scribbling something down on a piece of paper, and Chiaki craned his neck to see what it was.

Right now, I really don't care

And do you dare

To find the dark

In my heart

But right now, I could really care less

My mind's a mess

I'll take my life

I've got a knife

Do you believe me?

Or do you not see?

She's finding the darkness in me.

_Odd,_ Chiaki thought,_ she really doesn't strike me as the poet type. Oh, well, that was a good poem. Dark, but good._ Before he could contemplate his sister's poetic talents further, the bell rang and she crumpled up the paper and threw it in the trash. She muttered something like, 'I committed it to memory anyways', and ran out the door before any one else.

Maron let Miyako and Chiaki walk ahead of her, her thoughts drifting from Chiaki to Miyako to Indigo to Finn to her grades to being Jeanne and the checkmate tomorrow night. When they finally got home it was dark, but that wasn't stopping Indigo from swimming in the private pool, which must have been ice-cold. After finally finishing up her extensive amounts of homework, Maron decided to go join her. Surprisingly, the pool was quite warm, and apparently the girls got a bit louder than necessary, so the manager came out and yelled at them. When he turned his back, Indigo stuck her tongue out at him and flipped him off carelessly. Maron gaped at her, but Indigo just took that chance to go back to her lonely apartment. After the coldness in the night persistently seeped into her bones, Maron went in the Jacuzzi. She dunked her head under for about twenty seconds and when her head finally burst up, Chiaki was sitting on the wet concrete ground, looking quite satisfied. She turned around and ignored him. Or, rather, tried to ignore him.

"Hello, beautiful," he said cheerfully. She said nothing. He rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically, and began humming an upbeat tune. He heard her groan, and his silly grin widened with satisfaction. After about ten minutes, she turned around and glared at him.

"Do you _mind_? I'm trying to ignore you." She said hatefully, but he just cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow. She started to turn away, reminding herself _not_ to think of how cute he was, reminding herself _not _to wonder what it would be like to kiss him. Ah, hell, it was too late for that anyways.

"You know, you're really sexy when you're mad," he informed her. She rolled her eyes and said sarcastically,

"Yeah, my five boyfriends tell me that a _lot_." She said sarcastically. Chiaki, however, apparently _missed_ the sarcasm, and looked like he was very hurt and very close to hunting those 'five boyfriends' down and torturing and killing them using dull gardening scissors and rusted silverware. Then, of course, Maron busted up laughing. She laughed so hard she was almost crying.

"You actually _believed_ me?!?!?" she gasped out between laughs. "You actually _believed_ that_ five_ guys would actually want to date _me?_" When she finally stopped laughing, she noticed him staring at her. It wasn't, however, the normal stare below the neck. He was gazing into her eyes with all seriousness.

"Why do you say that?" he asked quietly. His amber eyes were so amazing; how had she never noticed before?

"Because I'm me," she said, in an even softer voice. "Why would any guy want to date _me?_" His eyes continued to meet hers; he found himself amazed at the great amount of sorrow in her eyes. But when she looked at him, another emotion sparked, and her eyes lit up.

"I can name two off the top of my head, and if you gave me a day I could probably think of ten more." He began. "Iinchou and I," he said. "You have serious insecurity issues." He informed her. Their eyes were still connected, and no matter how hard she tried, shoe could not bring herself to draw her gaze away. Chiaki wasn't trying, but he was willing to bet that if he'd tried to look away, he wouldn't have been able to.

"What's so special about me?" she inquired, hoping for an answer she wanted to hear. Chiaki's goofy grin reappeared on his face.

"Well, you _do_ have a nice sized chest."

I guess you can't have everything in life.

She groaned in rage. "Pervert!" she screamed at him, then splashed him repeatedly until he backed up a bunch of steps, then she turned her back on him and refused to look back. However, he could tell by the set and shaking of her shoulders that she was crying. He realized just then that that apparently wasn't the right thing to say to her.

"Maron..." he whispered softly, so softly she barely heard him.

"Go. Away." She said firmly, still refusing to look at him. He gave up and left, flinching at the sounds of her quiet crying. Even though he could barely hear it, it made him feel worse than anything else in the world ever had, and, as he was willing to bet almost anything on, anything ever would.

Actually, the latter part wasn't true, but nobody knew that yet. So I'll shut up now.

When Maron thought Chiaki had left, she brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs, burying her face in her knees and letting the cold tears mix with the warm water. When she thought she'd cried all her tears away, she wrapped a huge beach towel and darted into the apartment building. She ran into the elevator and smacked the 'seven' button. She hurried into her apartment, still dripping slightly. She slammed her apartment door behind her, and quickly threw on her pajamas. She started to head out to her balcony, but as she saw Chiaki was there, she turned on her heel and walked silently into her kitchen. She felt the tears began to form behind her eyes, and poured herself a glass of water. She set it gently down on the table, and let the teardrops fall onto the dark wood. The only sound that comforted her lonely heart was the sound of the salty teardrops splashing quietly against the kitchen table. After about twenty-five minutes, she could cry no more._ He's not worth crying over,_ she told herself, but she could not help but think:  _If he's not worth crying over, then why am I crying?_ As she though, she absent-mindedly swirled the small puddles made of tears around on the table. The glass of water sat still-full, and she got a sudden idea. She grabbed the glass and walked out onto her balcony, not saying a word to Chiaki, just looking at the stars.

"Are you still mad at me, Maron?" Chiaki asked tentatively. She simply smiled sweetly at him. When she finally spoke, Chiaki felt a brief moment of relief and then he felt so terrible.

"I was never _mad_ at you," she said in a flat tone. "I was furious with you." His face fell, and he started to try to explain, but she simply threw the water at him and carried the empty glass back into her apartment. Chiaki ran a hand through his messy(and now wet) hair and went back into the apartment.

"I am never going to understand her," he muttered under his breath. Unfortunately for him, Access heard and cackled while floating slowly and lazily in the air.

"Don't bother," he advised. "Usually you're a hell of a lot more stubborn than her, but you just had to go and fall for her." Chiaki groaned and rolled his eyes at the two-inch-tall angel, then promptly locked him in a cupboard. He heard a soft voice singing, and noticed it was slightly choked with tears. It sounded like Maron, and a song he'd never heard before. Indigo probably taught it to her.

_"Hold me now, hold me now, say the things you say. Hold me now, hold me now, I pray. So~, here we are, at the start of this road, forever building castles in the air. Words-we don't need, without you I don't breathe, forever building castles in the air."_ Then the voice was silent, and the lonely darkness of quiet slumber crept across everyone.

~~~~~~~~~~

Indigo lay asleep in her bed, for once experiencing a dreamless slumber. The demon-messenger sent to corrupt her ripped out his heart, and held it in the dim light. It was black, and the pieces of veins hanging off of it were gray and black. The blood dripping off of it and onto the floor was a very dark black, but the second it hit the white carpet, it become see-through. He squeezed the heart carefully, dripping some blood onto his hand._ Just enough,_ he thought grimly. He rolled over her thin frame, and thrust the black heart into her chest. Since she was sleeping and he'd made sure she wouldn't make a sound, she bucked and rolled painfully under the covers and the six hands holding her down. Using the blood he'd squeezed out, he drew the mark of Darkness on her forehead, and her hands involuntarily reached up to clutch her head; probably because of the intense pain the blood and darkness was causing her. The messenger left, and the only thing that showed he had been there was the light grey mark on her forehead. It looked like a triangle with two thin ovals set in the center.

When he arrived back at Kuraitama's fortress, he reported immediately, knowing she was not prone to patience.

"The mission was a success," he said in a robotic monotone. A grin of pleasure lit up her blood red lips, and her fangs gleamed in the moonlight. She had been draining something's blood when he'd first come, but the corpse lay forgotten on the ground. It looked like she'd been drinking for quite some time; no more blood was pouring out of the body's wounds.

In her rich, slightly accented voice, she answered: "I thank you. You have always been a trusty servant and done your tasks, no matter how difficult, obediently. I am promoting you- now you are one of my trusted generals, along with Noin and that girl, Myst{1}. I hope to see you continuing your progress- who knows? Maybe one day you'll be my right-hand man, like I was to Devil-sama." She grinned, her bloodstained teeth standing out against her black lipstick.

"Majesty? May I ask a question?" the servant asked shakily. She nodded her head absentmindedly, and snapped her fingers. Some grotesque monsters came and dragged the mangled corpse away. Actually, the corpse looked better than the monsters.

"Fish Finn said she was the devil's right-hand man. Which one of you is lying?" Kuraitama snorted.

"Let me set things straight," she replied in cold rage. "Finn was the devil's left hand man. She's my right-hand man, but you may take her place. Her friendship with that damn Jeanne may interfere with her duties." She then waved a thin hand, dismissing him. He scurried off as the sun woke from its slumber, spreading crimson and golden light over the world. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Indigo woke up that morning, feeling like someone ran over her with a ten-ton truck, buried her, then dug her up a week later. Her head was throbbing painfully- she could feel it throbbing halfway down her back.{2} Her heart beat painfully against her chest, and she could feel her blood flowing sluggishly; she felt like she had needles stuck near her lungs, and every time she breathed she could feel the needles stabbing into her lungs. The saliva in her mouth tasted like poison, and her forehead ached with a blinding pain. She rolled over out of bed, shivering with the coolness of her sweat against her feverish skin. She fell almost instantly into a feverish sleep, and even Lance pounding fitfully on the door could not awaken her.

Maron awoke easily at five-thirty, unaware of what had shaken her out of her like slumber. She yawned and started to roll over and go back to sleep, but decided against it and took a shower and changed into her school uniform and grabbed her bag. Glancing at her watch, she realized it was only six-thirty, and grabbed a book she'd recently begun reading: _Daughters of Britannia_ {3}, a book about the lives and times of diplomatic wives. It had only been recently translated into Japanese, and she didn't know much about England, but she already was enjoying the book. Out on the balcony, she rested her elbows on the rail and read, enjoying the cool morning breezeand the quiet. Every few minutes she would check her watch. At promptly seven-thirty, she slammed her book closed and walked out of her apartment. The quiet that ruled outside did not greet her ears; instead, she heard Lance pounding frantically on Indigo's door and yelling at her to wake up. Curiosity won out, and she went up to the older man and tapped him on the shoulder.

"What's wrong with Indigo?" she asked tentatively. Lance looked extremely worried, but he also looked like he knew what to do. He dug through his pockets for a few minutes, then came up with a small key. He fitted it neatly into the key hole, then swung the door open wide. Maron cautiously walked into the dim and warm apartment. It was laid out almost the same as hers, only slightly larger. She walked into the bedroom, and stifled a shriek with her hand. Indigo lay on the floor, shivering and sweating. Maron reached out a hand and lay it across her forehead. However, she instantly recoiled at the flaming heat that had met her hand when she had touched Indigo. A strange thing had happened also; in those few seconds she had touched her forehead, she'd seen a blinding darkness, broken only by a pair of cold red eyes. The pain that had greeted her in the second had been almost as blinding as the Darkness.

Tentatively, she laid her other hand on Indigo's cheek, and realized that while her cheek was unhealthily warm, it was nowhere near as hot as her forehead had been. Lance came into the room silently behind her, and Maron looked up and spoke softly, so as to not wake Indigo.

"She's burning up- there's no way she can go to school today. But really, there's nothing we can do. We just have to let her rest," Maron's gentle whisper reached Indigo in her freakish nightmares, but by the time it did, it was the hiss of a creature bringing news of your own death. Lance easily picked up Indigo's elf-like frame, and he and Maron put the extra blankets on her day bed. Lance wrote out a note explaining her absence from school, and Maron headed out the door to start walking to school. Outside she saw Chiaki leaning next to her door, absentmindedly shredding a piece of paper. She looked at him, rolled her eyes, and walked off silently. 

"O-oi!" he shouted as she walked off. "Wait up!" He ran to catch up with her, and she still didn't speak to him.

"Maron, I'm reaaaallllly sorry about what I said- I didn't mean to make you mad! You were supposed to laugh. I'm sorry," as he blurted out those words, she slowly turned around to look at him. She cocked her head to her side, and looked slightly puzzled.

"That's the first time you've ever apologized for being a pervert," she stated calmly. "I guess I have to forgive you now, before I begin to hate the word 'sorry', right?" He nodded emphatically, and grinned triumphantly. She looked like she was about to smack him when he opened his mouth to speak, so he wisely shut it. As the elevator stopped on the lobby floor, Chiaki walked straight out the door, but Maron checked her mailbox first.

Empty.

School was like any other day. The tedious classes blended in with one another. They tend to do that when you're half-asleep and half-listening. Maron noticed Miyako was absent as well, which meant she'd received the notice card. Which _could_ be either good or bad. Depending on the situation. Since Miyako wasn't there to outrageously flirt with him, Chiaki took it upon him to ask Maron out every five minutes. And whenever the other boys tried to do the same, Chiaki would just grab Maron's arm and drag her away, or (try) to put an arm around her waist and walk calmly off. Whenever he tried the latter, he usually got a smack on the head. A very _hard_ smack on the head.

Somehow he had a feeling he was going about this the wrong way.

Iinchou was the only guy who didn't approach Maron that day, and he looked angry or depressed when Chiaki defended her from her semi-rabid 'fanboys'. He also blushed whenever Maron smiled at him after helping her with math. Chiaki was very lucky- he didn't know how lucky, though. He was new, so he didn't know that boys had been stalking/asking out Maron since fourth grade. He also didn't know that Maron usually only said one word to them: no. So he was lucky just to have a decent conversation with her.

Except for with Chiaki, conversations usually aren't so decent.

She really was beautiful; on the inside and outside. He auburn bangs fell perfectly over her chestnut eyes, and when the sun shone off of her silky hair, and made a halo of sorts, surrounding her head and making her look even more like and angel. She was kind, funny, smart, and obviously didn't have a mean bone in her body. At first he'd thought he'd had a chance with her, but then he noticed the way she looked at Chiaki; the same way he looked at her, and the same way Chiaki himself looked at her. They loved each other, and they were the only people who couldn't see that. He remembered a quote from somewhere:

_You will never truly know love unless you surrender to it._

Apparently Maron and Chiaki didn't want to surrender to their feelings. Their stubbornness was strong, but if Maron loved him, she'd come out with it eventually. And if he tuned her down, then there would be her broken heart to deal with. He knew Maron always felt alone; a broken heart wouldn't help matters.

But, despite his extensive thoughts on Chiaki's girl(for everyone else had already dubbed her that; why shouldn't he?), his thoughts drifted to another angel:

Miyako.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Kuraitama watched Indigo fretfully; but not for the reasons a kind person would be.

"Is she going to die? If she dies, we'll never kill Jeanne or Sindbad. Are you sure she knows how to use weapons? I don't want our little secret to be too weak. Why is she so ill?" she barked all of this out in one breath at the servant that had corrupted Indigo. Luckily for him, he knew the answer she wanted to hear.

"She is experiencing this great pain because she has not yet transformed. Once she becomes Nightmare-which will happen, voluntarily or involuntarily- the evil will seep into her heart, and she will feel the pain no more." Kuraitama snorted and rolled her eyes at the servant.

"I don't care if she feels pain. I just want her evil." The servant nodded silently, bowed, and walked out, leaving Kuraitama to her evil plots.

However, unbeknownst to either one of them, a group of not-so-loyal servants were holding a meeting of their own- one against Kuraitama. They didn't like how she treated them-like they were dispensable, and she could kill off as many as she pleased. Loyalty was not rewarded, and many faithful servants had not seen a promotion in their life-time. These creatures had been plotting for centuries. They were careful never to be caught, and studied Kuraitama and her loyal servants carefully. They knew Kuraitama was not physically strong, so if you could get past her magic you could easily win; they knew her servants were the exact opposite. They knew Kuraitama had a secret 'pet', a monster, that she hid in a shadowy dungeon far below the base level of the castle. However, the dungeon was unapproachable to anyone but her and Finn Fish and Noin and Myst. But only Kuraitama went down there.

It was unapproachable for three reasons:

The first was Kuraitama's spells; they permitted entrance only to the aforementioned people and a small amount of guards. These spells would never wear off. Kuraitama herself would have to deactivate them in order to break that part. Anyone who tried to enter would be attacked by fierce fire-Shkeins and water-Shkeins(pronounced sh-k-ein, the 'ein' pronounced like 'sign' without the 's') If you somehow managed to get through the Shkeins, then multiple tornados would appear before you, and thunderbolts would strike you down. If you somehow managed to get through that, then a regular non-elemental shield would appear before you, and nothing can break that shield.

The second was the guards that guarded the doors that led to the magic protections. They were attentive and always there- they never left their posts until the new shift arrived. You'd need practically an army to get through those.

If you somehow managed to get through the three aforementioned protections, the beast itself had no chains restraining it, no manacles, nothing to keep it from eating the first person who entered. And no one knew what the beast was, so no one knew how to defeat it.

But if they defeated Kuraitama, they might stand a chance.

~~~End Chapter three, in its eight-page-long glory~~~

I am _so_ sorry this took so long. I couldn't work on it for a while because of a computer grounding, and then I couldn't upload it because it's saved only on the laptop, and the wireless chip wasn't working. But I really like this chapter, so I hope you do!! Please review!!!!!!!!!!!

Footnotes:

1-Myst is anime-only, so manga-only fans wouldn't know her. She's this little demon child that possesses things with candies. I know her better than Silk, that's why it's her instead of Silk.

2-This is entirely possible. I know this because it happens to me a lot. It's a lot more painful than it sounds, BTW. You get it when you have killer headaches, which is why I get it a lot.

3-This is a real book, written by Kate Hickman. I haven't finished it yet, but I like it so far. So I mentioned it in the story, yay.

Shkeins are creatures I made up, so don't use them. They're cute, puppy-like creatures. Except they have long rabbit-like ears and a cat-like tail, and small spikes down their backs. Water and fire Shkeins are vicious, but Earth and Wind Shkeins are generally passive, unless you attack someone they love. They are colored according to their elements,a nd have powers corresponding with the elements. Fire are red and orange, with the tiniest bit of yellow, water is aqua with blue, wind is grey, purple, and very little white, and earth is brown and green. There are two other types of Shkeins- healing/light, which can heal and use light magic(offensive), and dark Shkeins, which are physically stronger than professional wrestlers and can use offensive dark magic. Light Shkeins are white with a bit of silver and gold, and dark Shkeins are black with very dark black trim and very dark grey trim. But the light and dark Shkeins are very rare, and dark Shkeins do not attach themselves too masters nearly as easily as the others do, so they are harder to train. Generally, it's worth the effort. Shkeins will appear extensively throughout the story. In fact, I think Jeanne and Sindbad will 'adopt' a stray light one. Once again, please do not use them.

If anyone uses my Shkeins, I will murder them with a Christmas tree. Thank you, and come again.

Oh, and the song Maron sings is 'Castles in the Air', by B*Witched also. It was originally going to be something from 'Eclipse of the Heart' by Bonnie Tyler, but that will be the opening song quote in another chapter.

I hope you like the story so far!

-Knife thrower 


	4. Chapter 4

Broken Melody, 

Chapter Four

Lonely Darkness

"_As darkness quickly steals the light that shines within her eyes, she slowly swallows all her fear and soothes her mind with lies" __Paradise__, _Vanessa Carlton.

There was another quote that expressed Nightmare's anger and rage taking over more, so I'm putting it in as a second quote:

_"I said, Emergency call 911, she's pissed off at everyone. Police, rescue, FBI, she wants to riot, she wants to riot." Riot Girl_- Good Charlotte

But, see, the first quote represents the **girl's **feelings and Nightmare's. Just so you know.

Welcome to chapter four, and I really hope you like the story thus far. If you couldn't tell, this is top on my priority list, Flowers for the Dead being third, so I am sorry if there is lots of updates for this and none for that. But this seems to be more popular, so XPXP. In case you were wondering, there is a point to everything mentioned in this story. Nothing is pointless.

Please note that bold AND italics means thoughts of that nameless character; italics only is mental conversation with her, from the voice of Darkness. 

Sorry for that brief note. Anyways, please review!!!!

~~~~~~~~~

At dusk, Indigo's eyes snapped open. But her eyes were not the normal clear blue- there was a darkness to them. She stumbled out of bed and onto her balcony, and watched the sunset. It was a beautiful painting, bright and dark and brilliant colors blended together as the sun lay its monstrous head to rest, as Luna herself scattered stars against the velvet-black sky. However, as soon as the crescent moon rose into the sky, and hung there like a pendant, she found her body no longer under her control. Watching from the inside, she was aware of throwing herself off the balcony. She was aware of the black wings circling her body. She was aware of closing her eyes, of giving everything up, of _changing_. But after that, she knew nothing, as the Indigo inside of her disappeared and the corrupted Kaitou Nightmare took over.

Darkness.

Loneliness.

Pain.

Sorrow.

Regret.

Depression.

Hatred.

All of these emotions curled up inside of her, forming a massive wave of dark feelings. Those feelings that she knew so well intensified the Darkness to almost tenfold. Black claws ripped through the gloves, and fangs were bared. Nightmare's eyes became flat and black as the night sky above her, and the same black wings that had encircled Indigo burst through the back of her shirt. All of these emotions combined into a giant tidal wave of an emotion that was feared. An emotion that killed.

 _Rage_.

The dark person flew off into the night, vowing never to return without inflicting that same pain upon the two original kaitous.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

_Never regret anything you do, and never do anything you'll regret._ Maron didn't know where she had heard that, but as pale and trembling hands clutched the letter to her parents, she was sure she wouldn't regret this. The letter told her parents that, according to what she thought, they'd left her, and she had no obligation to them. 

She did not tell them her feelings.

She did not pour her heart and soul out.

She did not end the letter with, 'love'.

She did not lie.

She did not tell the whole truth either.

And why should she, anyways? They had never told her until recently that they were to be divorced, and that they'd wanted to be since she was born. Not that she cared; she hadn't seen them in six years. They hadn't attempted contact, but neither had she. They'd only sent money, and probably only because the law required it. Every year, around the father-daughter formal dance, she would come up with some reason for not going. Miyako was the only person who knew why. She hadn't even told Chiaki, and that was a surprise. Now that she thought about, she didn't go to any of the school social functions, simply because she didn't care. She was not a girl who would get into a revealing formal and put on too much make-up just to impress a guy. Especially if they guy she wanted was too busy talking to one of the beautiful girls.

But she didn't care, did she?

It wasn't important. She was used to guys going after the beautiful girls. It had never mattered. She'd never wanted or needed any of those guys. Most of them, she didn't even remember their names. The thought that she would fall in love had never crossed her mind.

She was used to never getting what she wanted.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She lay sprawled on the floor, multiple cuts and injuries bleeding slowly. Her perfect red wavy hair was ripped and stained darker with blood. Her pale face was smeared with her blood. Her green eyes closed. 

She knew she would die soon.

She knew she didn't love Chiaki as much as Maron did, but somewhere in her heart, she loved him. She wanted to see him one last time. As a matter of fact, she wanted to hold him and kiss him, right in front of Maron, just to break the bitch's heart. She'd like to spend a non-existent eternity with him. She wanted to invite Maron to a wedding that would never happen, just for spite. She wanted to show Maron that Chiaki loved _her,_ that he didn't want a little shy outcast girl.

And while she was making impossible wishes, she'd like to kill Maron.

How ironic. She knew that her heart, the same heart that beat with desire for Chiaki, was going to kill her right now.

I can give you what you want. None of your wishes are impossible. He can be yours. She can be dead.

**_How?_**

All you have to do is join me. You'll live to marry him. You'll be beautiful again. You'll never return to Earth as a human though; you'll be one of us; immortal and all-powerful. You will be given an immediate place of power among us. You will have all your wishes come TRUE. 

**_Are you lying?_**

No. Well, there is ONE other thing that you have to do.

**_What?_**

Kill Kusakabe Maron. 

**Yes.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chiaki rubbed his eyes thoughtfully. His forehead throbbed, and he could feel evil growing. Something was not right. The Darkness he felt was almost overwhelming, and his head felt like it was about to explode. The evil was close, and very, VERY strong. This was not the usual purposeless evil that was encountered on checkmates; it was stronger. And he could feel something else stirring the ashes of evil and re-kindling the flame of Darkness.

The need to inflict pain.

Whoever had such strong feelings of hatred certainly wanted to cause pain; perhaps the same pain they had felt. It was not a possessed person, this Chiaki was sure of. It was just plain evil, straight from the hidden Realms. It made even him afraid. He did not want to face someone with such strong feelings of hatred and sorrow. He pitied the poor fool who couldn't sense it and approached this person like this. He made a mental note to stay away from this new evil.

The evil wanted revenge.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The red-haired beauty was suddenly changed. Her red waves turned to sleek black curls, her pale skin turned even paler, and her green eyes became red. Her ripped and bloodied clothes disappeared to reveal a revealing black-and-red gown. She threw a black coat over it, and grinned, baring sharp fangs. She was going to get her revenge.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Maron was unsuspecting as she walked into the empty lobby. But as she opened her mailbox to check for mail and send her letter, scrawled in blood-red glistening letters was:

Beware

Someone hates you

Somebody wants your death to come true

Someone wants to take care of you

To make your face run with teardrops blue

Someone wants you to breathe your last breath

Someone wants you to taste death

BEWARE

Terrified, she slammed her mailbox door shut and ran upstairs. Terror overcame all reason as she threw herself into her apartment. She knew someone- in all likelihood, Chiaki, with one of his notes- would eventually see that message that looked as if it had been painted in blood. She knew it had to be only red paint, but it had that stench about, that foul stench of blood that makes you want to retch and empty the contents of your stomach and run away.

It reminded her of the time that, as a joke, a boy from her school had put a dead lamb in her locker. She rarely used her locker, and didn't open it for three days. By then, it gave off a foul, rotting odor. She'd vomited right then, as had Miyako.

After that, she moved lockers and checked it at least once daily.

Neither Chiaki nor Iinchou knew about this; Iinchou's locker was far away from hers and Chiaki hadn't been there yet. She didn't plan on telling either one of them, either. As a matter of fact, she didn't plan on speaking to Chiaki again. She was still decently pissed off, and, well, she was sick at his half-hearted attempts to charm her. He should know by now that making perverted comments and flirting constantly with other girls was not work with her.

But anyways. She flopped carelessly onto her bed, then sat up and rested her forehead against the cool, white wall. She felt a chilly night breeze from her door, and shivered slightly. But she hadn't left her balcony door open, had she? Her eyes widened in fear, and she thought she heard moving and muttering outside. She swore colorfully under her breath, inching her hand silently towards her cross. Gingerly she picked it up it and began to murmur the transformation incantation (whee, rhyming).

But before she could finish, a strange voice whispered in her ear:

"I don't think so, sweetheart."

And that was the last thing she remembered, because at that second, something heavy connected with her skull and everything became black.

The Russian man grunted in disapproval as he and his German partner picked up the limp form of the teenaged girl. They began arguing very rapidly in Russian broken with English and German. Their translated conversation went something like this:

"I don't like this at all," The Russian man, Nikolai, said under his breath to his partner, Bryan.

"Yes, well, it is not your job to say what is wise and what is foolish and reckless. It is Her job. You let Her do Her job and we just do the kidnapping and the stealing."

"But even you, the obedient little puppy, must agree that this is foolish, uh? That boy, following this girl, he will notice, yes? And he will look for her; he will have all his though bent on finding her, correct? For I think they have feelings, you understand?" Nikolai insisted.

"Yes, bet you must understand that he will never, ever find Her hideout. It is hidden; it is safe; he will never find her and we will get our money and return to our homelands." Bryan said even softer to Nikolai.

Finally Nikolai gave in, for he was forced to agree. No mere human would ever stumble upon Her hideout. Yes, she had made sure of that.

The girl who had died stared at them down her nose. "Bring her to the Hideout," she said firmly, in a commanding tone of voice. "And if she wakes up," she smiled slightly, baring white, glistening fangs, "hit her harder."

~~~~~~~~~~

Chiaki heard voices out on Maron's balcony, but at first he dismissed it as her talking to herself. They became rather annoying however, so he was just about to get up, when he thought he heard a thud, like the sound of something heavy and hard connecting with flesh and bone, followed almost immediately by a soft moan. He was just about to get up when Access came in, screaming for hotcakes. He couldn't get him to shut up for about five minutes, and then he heard voices that definitely belonged to two males. He leapt up in rage, and ran towards his balcony, his mind rapidly filling in the missing puzzle pieces, but by the time he got out on his balcony, it was too late.

Whoever had been in her apartment had disappeared without a trace.

He ran as fast as she could into the hallway, banging frantically on her door. Please, please, answer the door Maron, he thought fretfully. Finally, he gave up and tried opening the door. It was unlocked, and her apartment was dark. He wandered silently until he came to her bedroom, and his heart sank at what he saw.

Her rosary was lying on the floor, a few droplets of blood staining the carpet beside it.

End Chapter Four

Wow, that took forever. But look, no footnotes! Yay! I like this chapter, even though it's short and really, really weird. It gets the story moving on. Anyways, please review.

Oh, and standard disclaimers apply.  If you couldn't tell, I think Nikolai is an awesome name. The only awesomer Russian name is Katia.

Again, please review!


	5. Chapter 5

Broken Melody

Chapter Five

Hopeless

_"If you want me to wait, I will wait for you, if you tell me to stay, I would stay right through. If you don't wanna say anything at all, I'm happy wondering." Wondering- Good Charlotte_

Author's notes: Wow. I'm at chapter five, and I have not gotten one flame yet! So happy…… Anyways, thanks to all my reviewers, your response to my story is very much appreciated. To Natsuki, I thought about what you said, and a tiny bit of the plot has changed so it makes much more sense. Anyways, standard disclaimers apply, and please review!

~~~~~~~~~~

Chiaki's eyes widened as he stared, then he fell to his knees with a _thud_ muffled by the carpet. He yelled in rage, and pounded his fist on the floor. He suddenly looked up, and heard a voice.

"Anger management, Joe, anger management."

It was a girl, a black-haired girl wearing a black cloak. She grinned at him, and her new, pristinely white fangs glimmered in the soft moonlight. Silence reigned over the small room, and time itself seemed to stand still. And then, he reeled back and punched her in the jaw with all the strength he could muster in his state of mind. She clutched at the bruise already forming on her pale skin, and glared. And then her face smoothed into a thin smile of satisfaction.

"You're looking for her. Don't waste your time, you'll never find her. Yes, She made sure of that. Oh, I won't hurt her. She won't suffer. Quick, painless death, I promise you." He gritted his teeth. So, she had Maron. His rage and anger at himself (and the world, as it so happened) only made her smile widen.

And then she was gone.

He flew out of her apartment, pausing briefly to grab his shoes and force them on speedily, before running towards the stairs. Instead of making the turn, he simply vaulted over and kept on running. Why waste valuable time, after all. And he ran as fast as he could, thinking he knew where to look. As it so happened, he was headed in the correct direction. He skidded to a stop in front of the school, breathing heavily. His eyes scanned, looking for something unnatural, but he saw nothing out of the ordinary. Wait.

He saw a dark shadow, which looked oddly familiar, leap down from a tree.

And disappear. 

He looked under the tree, but saw nothing. He cursed colorfully under his breath, and kept on running. He had to find Maron, fast. He was normally very trusting, other than when it came to Maron, but he'd known enough evil demons to realize that they literally had no honor, and swearing to or not to do something was like any ordinary sentence. So he had no doubt that now Maron was going to suffer a particularly painful death. He had to find her before that happened.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The shadow grinned darkly, red eyes glowing brightly in the dim moonlight. She'd been able to throw that persistent and aggravating bastard off her trail. So now she could report and help her Master prepare.

            ~~~~~~~~

Chiaki had run everywhere, looking at places he'd never looked before, trying every hidden road he could find. But they were all dead ends. He wouldn't give up, not just yet. But it was after midnight. He was sure that if they were torturing her, by now he'd have heard her screams. And so he turned around and headed back towards his apartment building, taking a shortcut he'd discovered. He was weary beyond belief, but still managed to run up the seven flights of stairs and stagger awkwardly into his apartment. HE flicked the light on, and felt something warm and sticky on his fingertips. In the flickering light, he could see it was red. And painted on the wall, in the same substance was:

Happy Birthday

He figured out it was blood only by the foul stench it gave off. And there was little doubt in his mind as to whose blood it was. He felt sick, like this was all his fault. He should have been there to protect her. His mind told himself that she was already dead or dying, but a tiny voice in the back of his head cried out that if they were truly torturing her, she'd still be alive after only a few hours. He sighed and flopped onto his bed, and the silence of the house somehow disturbed him. But weariness drove him into a light sleep, but he awoke often because of nightmares.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finn blinked slowly and yawned. Her large white wings unfurled quietly, barely rustling against each other. She stretched her arms, then leapt neatly down to the dry and barren ground beneath her. 

She was ready to spread Darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Maron awoke slowly, the throbbing pain at the base of her skull flaring up whenever she tried to move her head. Finally, her eyes cooperated and fluttered open. She was tied to a hard metal chair in a damp, cold stone dungeon. These idiots obviously were inspired by fairy tales. She had no intention of just sitting there, waiting to be let go. Or whatever. She tried desperately to saw the ropes against the cool metal chair, but she was bound too tight to even twitch. Her legs were bound tight also, making her immobile from the neck down. The chair was bolted in too, and some scarf-like cloth covered her mouth. She blinked, trying to think straight. So she was bound tight, unable to move or scream for help. This was bad.

She struggled wildly, but gave up after a few minutes. It was hopeless; she'd better save her strength. She somehow fell into a light and dreamless slumber for the remainder of the night, unaware that anyone knew of her disappearance.

"Wake up," someone with a heavy Russian accent growled in her ears. She blinked her eyes awake almost immediately, to see the ugly face of a brunette man glaring at her. She quickly scanned the area. She was in the same room, but she could see several soldiers looking at her, obviously armed. She knew it was pointless to struggle, so allowed him to untie her and force her into an unsteady standing position. Her legs were numb from lack of use in the cold air for many hours, and she staggered and stumbled behind him out of the cell, arms re-tied in front of her and gag still on. The soldiers will still following her, and the man chuckled at her as she stumbled along behind him. He knew that they were someone where no one would find her.

Finally, after about forty-five minutes of silent and terrifying walking, they came to a large, dark chamber. The man snapped his fingers, and the sound echoed in the room. A torch was silently lit, and others followed. Maron heard a small sound to her left right before a torch was lit, so she assumed some creatures were hurriedly lighting the room. She shivered at the power these new forces were showing. What would they do to her?

When the room was finally lit, she saw that it did indeed contain one strange object in the center of the room. When she saw what it was, her mind rapidly put the pieces of the puzzle together. She screamed around the gag, wondering if there was anyone nearby to save her. When silence greeted her desperate pleads, she screamed again.

Silence.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chiaki sat upright in bed, almost drenched in sweat. He would almost swear he just heard a scream. He sighed again, and buried his face in his hands. Suddenly, an idea sparked in his mind, but he mentally threw it aside. These new forces just could not be that stupid. It was two in the morning, and he could not sleep. He decided to go out looking for Maron again. The silence of the early morning disturbed him, so he ran like he had never run before, searching and looking and trying to find her.

The smell of the fresh morning air, of sunrises greeted his nose hours later as he rested his sore back against the trunk of a tree in the park. He was breathing heavily, and still no luck finding her. He rested the back of his head against the trunk of the tree, letting the newly-risen sun warm his sweat-drenched face. And that was when another ingenious idea sparked him.

~~~~~~~~~~~

(Because I know absolutely no Russian, and about five words in French, this conversation is pre-translated. Mostly, anyways.)

"Jean-Paul?" Nikolai called into the dark antechamber.

"Oui, c'est moi," The French man replied.

"That pathetic witch that She insisted be taken captive doesn't speak Russian, and you're the only one that bothered to learn Japanese. Could you go talk to her?" Nikolai told him angrily. Jean-Paul's eyes glimmered evilly in the darkness. He loved it when people pissed Nikolai off. It was just too funny to watch them scream and beg for death.

"Oui," he replied, smiling thinly through the darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chiaki remembered wandering down from the basement parking-lot and into that huge underground area and being lost for hours. He remembered going to his dad and demanding an explanation for two things: why there was that huge labyrinth of dark tunnels and chambers under their hospital and why he'd never been told about it. Kaiki just shrugged and said that nobody ever used it for anything or even went down there, and it had been there when he got here, so he didn't know why it was there.

Chiaki, despite fatigue, sped toward the hospital as fast as he could. Luckily for him, he was close, so he didn't have to run far. The hospital wasn't open, and nobody was there, but he had a key. He let himself in, disabled the alarm, and ran down the stairs as fast as he could, skidding at the corners and skipping steps. Finally he reached the 'bottom' floor- the garage parking lot. Then he felt for the door that so little people noticed. He found it with little effort, because he hands surprisingly still held that memory {1}. He slammed his shoulder forcefully against it, and gritted his teeth hard against the pain. Surprisingly, the door swung open easily, sending him tumbling ungracefully into the opening chamber. He steadied himself against the cold stone wall, rubbing his sore shoulder. He cautiously crept down the staircase, all the while trying to stay hidden in the shadows.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The possessed Nightmare was hiding in a tree, the good Nightmare long since drowned in the dark and evil feelings that had been forced into Indigo's body. She was waiting for Chiaki to come along and re-discover that nice, huge underground labyrinth. Because that's what it technically was. A labyrinth of long passages and antechambers and locked rooms and dungeons. She smiled. It wouldn't take long for him to get lost, hopefully. If not, well, that just moved Her plan along a heck of a lot faster, which meant she wouldn't have to do much more waiting around in stupid trees for stupid kaitous. After hours of sitting still and silent in the same position, she finally shifted slightly and yawned quietly.

Suddenly, a shape darted out of her blind-spot, headed towards the hospital doors, and unlocked them, and threw themselves into the lobby of the massive building. She smiled thinly- finally, her stupid brother picked up on the little clues that didn't exist. The real fun was about to begin. She snapped her gloved fingers together, the holes the claws had formed enlarging as her claws scraped each other and her fingers, giving her a sudden shock of small pain and a trickle of blood. She ignored it, though. It was a small price to pay for revenge.

When she reappeared in the large stone chamber, she called out in a cold voice:

"Laissa le jeu commencez."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am so sorry for the shortness of this chapter, but it needed to be finished, and if it were longer, this would be a good place to end. Oh well.. I like it though. Please Review!!!!

{1}: What he's talking about is muscle memory; we talk/hear about that a lot in karate. It actually exists, so if you make minor adjustments in a kick, and do it enough, your muscles will remember those changes and keep them with little to no effort. It's strange that his hands remember the workings of the door after only doing it once and so long ago; it's also probably not possible, but whatever.

'Oui, c'est moi' menas something like: Yes, it's me

'Laissa le jeu commencez' means something like 'Let the games begin.' It may be a little off, because 'jeu' is French for 'game', but the online English-French dictionary I used didn't have games, so I just used 'jeu'.

Again, please review!

-Knife thrower


	6. Chapter 6

Broken Melody 

Chapter 6

Ravissant Mort

Lovely Death

_"And if there's no tomorrow, and all we have is here and now, I'm happy just to have you, you'll all the love I need somehow," Breathless, The Corrs_

I would like to thank all my reviewers, however few there may be, because without you, this story never would have gotten this far. I am so happy that people like this story. I actually had this story planned for almost a _year_ before I actually started writing down the first chapter. Thanks muchly to my reviewers, and please review!!!

Standard disclaimers apply.

~~~~~~~

Jean-Paul's head snapped up from its former position on his arms as Kaitou Nightmare's shout rang in his ears:

"Laissa le jeu commencez,"

Jean-Paul smiled thinly as the other agents twitched their ears, trying to make sense of what the new recruit was shouting. Jean-Paul sighed at their hopelessness, shook the others awake, whispering one by one in their ears the translation.

"Let the games begin."

The agents grinned maliciously. This is what they lived for, causing pain and torment and suffrage. They all drew their knives and weapons, and crept out of the anti-chamber they used as sleeping quarters into the huge chamber, where the unconscious form of Kusakabe Maron slumped in a metal chair, ropes bound tighter than ever around her. She moaned softly in her sleep, and tried to shift, but the tight bindings would not allow her to move anything but her head anything more than half a centimeter. The agents didn't quite like her, mostly because she was stubborn and refused to answer their mock questioning. Apparently their half-hearted attempts to cover up the true point of this mission weren't working on her. She was too smart for her own good, they all agreed.

But now, that silly boy that was such a vital part to their plan had found their not so secret hideout. And, soon, their job would be done and they'd be on a first class flight to their homelands with nicer clothes and much fatter wallets. They just had to let him wander around for a while. Certainly it wouldn't take him long to find their large room. And hopefully, it wouldn't take him long to figure out what was in the center of the room. It had taken that smart bitch long enough. But, still, this was something a guy was more likely to know about. And once he figured it out, oh, how he would scream!

Jean-Paul and Nikolai exchanged a secret nod as the other agents chattered on about money and fine restraints and beautiful women. Once this operation was over, these agents would not have a home to return to.

Because if you're dead, then you're really not going anywhere, now are you?

~~~~~~~

Kaitou Nightmare sprinted without hesitation through the hallways. Her long, now-black hair flowed behind her with the silk ribbons, which were torn. The black wings that had burst from her back were useless in such a small corridor with such a low ceiling. She rounded corners, ducked behind secret doors, and cut through dark and cold dungeons to be the first to arrive at the large chamber. Unfortunately for her, all the other agents were already there, so she was the last. Oh, well, it didn't matter, they didn't start without her. The hostage was still unconscious-obviously, Jean-Paul wanted to play cat-and-mouse with lover boy, and watch him suffer. Kaitou Nightmare snorted in disgust. Watching his beloved die would make him welcome death; she thought Jean-Paul liked to hear them wail to stop.

Oh, well, as long as they die.

Her untainted fangs glimmered in the gentle light of the flickering torches. If all went well tonight, then everything would be in order for Her to step in and set the real plan in motion.

She sighed with relief as she unfurled her massive black wings, some of the agents gasping in surprise. It had been a while since they'd had a full-fledged creature of the Night working with them. Once they got over their initial shock, their evil grins grew even larger. This was going to make their job so much easier.

"Fureur-etant," Jean-Paul said lazily to Nightmare, "Qu'est-ce-que nouvelles fais vous avons?" Nightmare smiled thinly in response.

"Le reine di^mes pour tuent eux tous," she said very rapidly. The other agents blinked in confusion, until Jean-Paul turned around and repeated what she said in English and Russian.

(To save time and space, I'm printing the translations right here: Fureur-etant means rage-being, Qu'est-ce-que nouvelles fais vous avons? Means something like, what news do you have? And Le reine di^mes pour tuent eux tous means something like: the queen says to kill them both. I'm really sorry if this bugs you, but I think this makes it far more authentic, and besides, I happen to like my English-French dictionary)

~~~~~~~~

Chiaki skidded around another corner, trying desperately to find Maron. If she was still alive now, it wasn't going to last long. Finally, he reached some sort of dungeon, and he could tell she'd been there not long ago, simply because a bit of warmth, obviously caused by a human. He followed the only hallway at a continued breakneck speed. After another agonizing length of minutes that seemed to last hours, he saw some light ahead; it was flickering and orange-ish red, so it was obviously caused by fire. That meant no electricity, though Chiaki wasn't quite sure if that was encouraging or not.

~~~~~~~~~~~

An unnamed Russian man was arguing with Jean-Paul, which wasn't improving his mood. That creature of the Night refused to cooperate. OK, so she could kill them all with a snap of her slender, clawed fingers. Somehow, she thought that gave her the orders to completely disregard prior orders. It was nice to finally be able to speak in French again, though, and she was fluent with a flawless accent. The thing was, now she refused to speak anything but French, which annoyed the other agents to all seven hells.

Now the hostage was mumbling phrases and names in her sleep. Or, to be more precise, one name.

"Chiaki… don't leave… love you… don't go…Chiaki…" Was all that they could hear, and only Jean-Paul and Nightmare could understand it, but the others got the message from the look on Jena-Paul's face. _This,_ he told himself,_ could complicate things very much._ He was very sure it would, in fact. He was also very sure that Nightmare was thinking the same thing.

"Celle-ci mai presentez un probleme," Nightmare said, saying exactly what he thought.

"Oui, l'on faut non laissa cette changez no^tre planifiez," Jean-Paul replied, and they two shared a secret nod. They were the only ones with the brains to figure out what to do. The placed the palms of their hands on each other's foreheads, then quickly moved their hand away and had their index and middle fingers lightly touching the mark of darkness upon their foreheads. Nightmare completed the ritual of the Dark-servants by saying,

"Mai nulle Allumer cesser nous,"

(Celle-ci mai presentez un probleme means 'This may present a problem'; Oui, l'on faut non laissa cette changez no^tre planifiez means 'Yes, we must not let that change our plans, and Mai nulle Allumer cesser nous means, 'May no Light stop us')

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Maron awoke from her horrible dream to find reality a far cry worse. She was still bound to that very uncomfortable chair, she was still gagged with a dirty silk handkerchief that smelled and tasted like oil and grease and perspiration. She was still in that huge, stone chamber, and that horrifying object was still in the center of the room, and she was still willing to bet nobody knew she was gone. Normal people would probably have broken down crying, but Maron was trying to figure out why this was happening.

I mean, the Darkness doesn't just usually kidnap random teenage girls and tie them up for hours, lurking around and obeying the man who screamed in many different languages. Wait.

A new being had joined the man shouting in German, Russian, and other languages that she couldn't recognize. It was Kaitou Nightmare! But, she was…_different_. Black wings had burst from her back, and now unfurled at a great size. The ribbons in her hair had been torn and ribbed, her cloth boots were now tied by a blood-red ribbon, all traces of blue and purple and silver turned to blood-red and a very dark grey. Her normally-dark-blue eyes had become the darkest, yet coldest, grey Maron had ever seen.

 The two conversed for a while in French, then did some sort of promise ritual simultaneously, then Nightmare said something in French and walked off, and the French man stopped giving orders, and this seemed to be the same for most of the people to drop down on the ground and sleep. She then realized that the others that weren't sleeping were guards. She grimaced. These people obviously knew what they were doing. No hope for escape; better start making a mental will…

But wait! Someone was up in the stone bridge-type-things that crisscrossed the ceiling. Someone with beautiful amber eyes, a mop of unruly blue hair, and the most beautiful face ever. 

She would have cried out in pleasure had she not been gagged. Chiaki was here to help her! She didn't bother puzzling over how he'd got here (wherever here was), how he'd gotten up there, or how he'd known she was missing. All she knew is that now she stood a slight chance. He nodded silently at her, mouthing the words 'I'm here to help you'. She nodded as much as the chafing ropes would allow, and tried not to draw too much attention to herself. She did wonder why he had not noticed the _thing_ in the center of the room, and why he wasn't terrified. She brushed it off, though, because she knew that right now she wasn't exactly in a position to question her rescuer.

Nightmare appeared again with the French man, whom she had heard addressed as Jean-Paul, and they were conversing again in French.

"Ou est celui?" Nightmare screamed, stomping through the chamber, kicking sleeping agents and hauling them up on their feet. About half were sent to search the huge stone underground labyrinth, or, Maron guessed they were searching. Jean-Paul was trying to calm her down, desperately talking in French, gesturing wildly with his hands. But it was all in vain, because Nightmare's eyes glinted with a rage that was unmatched before now.

"L'on faut commencez juste aussitot," he tried to tell her. "Oublier le gamon, pensons seule de le planifiez," Though she calmed down only a little, she stopped screaming and kicking and the other agents returned without any news of the boy, so it was decided that they would begin without him, which very much annoyed

Jean-Paul and Nightmare.

(Ou est celui means 'Where is the boy', L'on faut commencez juste aussitot means something like 'We must begin without him', and Oublier le gamon, pensons de le planifiez means 'Forget the boy, think only of the plan')

They began conversing quietly again in French, and Maron didn't bother trying to listen, because (obviously), she doesn't speak French. Without moving her head, she glanced up and saw Chiaki still perched up there. He was slowly inching down, and it seemed that there was a staircase carved into the stone bridges. Jean-Paul tired of conversing with the still-angry Nightmare, and came over to her. She tensed as he neared, for Nightmare and all the others had left. A sickening feeling was bubbling in her stomach. One of his pale fingers reached out and stroked her pale cheek. She began to tremble as much as the ropes would allow, for now she saw the desire that burned like a black flame in his eyes. She could practically hear Chiaki clench his teeth.

She ignored him, as he continued stroking her cheek. He was muttering in French, and she was trying desperately to loosen the ropes when she felt her left hand brush against something sharp. It pricked her skin and left a shallow cut; she felt the warm blood dripping silently from it. She delicately gripped it between her index finger and middle finger, and pulled it sharply outwards. It was a needle of some sort, she could tell now that it wasn't stuck in the chair anymore. The chair was obviously old, and there were some chips in the metal, large, intentional ones and the point where each leg met the seat of the chair. Somehow, the needle had become wedged in that niche.

She tried desperately to saw at the ropes, and to her surprise it worked slightly. However, after she'd sawed through half of one rope, the needle slipped form her hand and clattered on the stone floor. Jean-Paul instantly saw the needle, and his mind just as quickly put two and two together. He snarled in a rage at Maron, and slapped her full force across the face. She gasped in shock and pain as his hand, covered with heavy rings and strong enough as it was, connected forcefully with her cheek. It instantly turned red, and she could feel and Chiaki could see a large bruise forming. He growled and ground his teeth together quietly.

Unfortunately for him, the room was dead silent and it echoed very, very well. Jean-Paul snapped his head up almost before the echo had ended. Chiaki had not had time to pull his head back, and Jean-Paul's cold black eyes met Chiaki's amber ones, and you could almost feel the hate between them. Jean-Paul snapped his fingers, and Chiaki was unwillingly brought down, and bound by invisible ropes that he knew were there but could not feel or see. He was moved over next to Maron, and fell heavily on his knees. He winced, but brought his hands, which were bound together in front of him, up to lightly brush Maron's cheek. She did not flinch just tried not to let her tears fall. 

The rest of the agents darted in, Nightmare running at top speed in front of them all. She smiled evilly, her white fangs standing out against her lips stained with black lipstick (or something). She shrieked something incomprehensible in French, and the lights suddenly brightened to an almost unbearable brightness. Maron and Chiaki gaped, Maron because it was her first time seeing the machine in full light, Chiaki because it was his first time seeing the machine at all. The agents grinned, for they realized it was time to set the third part of their plan in motion.

When you think about it, it made sense that they had that machine. I mean, the dungeons sort of gave it a medieval feel. So it kind of made sense.

It just gave a whole new meaning to being drawn and quartered in the village square. 

~End Chapter 6~

Well? What did you think? Didn't take long, did it? But I really like this chapter. By the way, sorry for the shortness of recent chapters, the next one will be back to the average length, or even longer. But I really wanted to get this out and I like it so XPXPXPXPXPXPXPXPXP. Anyways, thanks for reading, sorry for all the French, it will hopefully stop in the next couple of chapters, and please review!

-Knife thrower


	7. Chapter 7

Broken Melody

Chapter 7

Broken Doll

I didn't get as many reviews as I hoped for on chapters 5 and 6. I **live** on reviews, people. I need them. If you like this story, please, I am down on my knees begging you, please review! P.S. Thanks to Jo-Ryan Salazar for being such a great reviewer. I bow down!

Standard disclaimers apply. PLEASE do not use Lance, Jean-Paul, Nightmare, Indigo, or any other of my characters in your story, RPG, or whatever! I spent forever coming up with them, they belong to me!

~~~~~~~

Chiaki struggled wildly against the agents that firmly held him. He was in shock that for one, he'd been caught, and for two, that giant drawing-and-quartering machine had gone so long without being noticed by him. It was indeed a huge contraption, with a hard metal tabled in the center for the victim to lie on. Then ropes were connected to the five main parts of the machine- one to go around the neck, one for each arm, and one for each leg. Then a person was needed at each 'station' to work the machine. All they had to do was continue rotating the lever until the torture and killing process was finished.

For those less-informed people, drawing and quartering is a form of killing criminals. It was used in the medieval ages. What happens is, a person lies on the ground, or s held down, and five horses are attached to the person, at the aforementioned places. Then, the horses are simultaneously smacked roughly, and they run as hard and as fast and as far as the ropes will allow them until the limbs of the person are literally torn off. It was a bloody way to die or kill.

And believe it or not, drawing and quartering was like hangings. People gathered to watch for _fun_.

Anyways, five agents, not including Jean-Paul, were chosen quickly to operate the machine. They had five more in 'reserves', because the machine could malfunction and end up killing one of the lever-rotators. Jean-Paul directed some of them in French, and though Maron couldn't understand, she thought she knew what they were going to do.

"Wait!" she shouted, and, to her surprise, they actually stopped. "Why are you dragging Chiaki into this? He isn't anything, he isn't involved. Let him go!"

Jean-Paul simply smiled with Nightmare at her forceful words, the last sentence choked with tears that had just now been shed.

"My dear brother," Nightmare said in a singsong voice that still carried a slight French accent. "You have been neglecting to do what you promised yourself you'd do. You have some explaining to do." Chiaki was still breathing heavily and struggling, but he paused as she spoke her words. He stared at her, eyes wide in shock. She grinned even wider, baring a mouth full of razor-sharp fangs.

"Or shall I say it for you?" She asked him mockingly, placing one hand on her hip and twisting a strand of her hair. Chiaki took a deep breath. Nightmare stomped her foot like an impatient child, and turned to Maron.

"Jeanne? You have an opponent, yes?" She asked her, obviously enjoying herself. Chiaki was mentally praying that she wouldn't spill his little-yet-very-important secret. Maron nodded slightly, a look of fierce defiance in her eyes.

"What of it? So I have an opponent? What's the big deal?" Nightmare's smile got even wider, which disturbed Chiaki slightly. Not the fact that she could smile that widely, the fact that she was enjoying herself this much. She was definitely having fun.

"And you and this boy, this Chiaki, you are close, are you not?" she asked her. A light of understanding was beginning to dawn in Maron's eyes, quickly replaced by disbelief, or, more correctly, denial.

"Not _that_ close," she said hesitantly. She wasn't stupid, she was beginning to put the pieces together now.

"But you would like to be closer?" 

It's funny how life works. Maron had never been able to tell Miyako, or Finn, or Chiaki her feelings. And yet, here she was, in front of a huge amount of people, Chiaki included, and she never thought twice about admitting the way she felt.

"Yes," she said clearly, and Chiaki's jaw dropped. Well, you had to admit, it was kind of a surprising way to find out. But, anyways.

"Well, lover-boy here has neglected to tell you one very tiny important detail." Nightmare said, her grin vanishing and turning into some sort of smirk; like the one you'd expect off of one of those preps after they effectively insulted you and stole your boyfriend.

"What is it?" Maron asked coldly. Of course, by now she'd figured out what Nightmare was insinuating. After all, it's not like she's stupid, or whatever.

"Oh, I just thought you_ might _want to know that my dear onii-chan here is, well, that lovely little Kaitou Sindbad."

I don't think Maron knows, to this day, that it was her that screamed, that ungodly, bloodcurdling sound. But she was deaf to the sounds of horror, shock and pain she was making.

"No," she sobbed, burying her wet face in her cold hands and sinking to the floor on her knees. "You're lying." She said, as firmly as she could in her current state.

"You have to be," she sobbed brokenly. Nightmare looked down at the pitiful person weeping on the floor, but there was no sympathy or pity in her eyes. Just pure, burning hatred.

"Am I? But, my brother's precious little broken doll, if I were lying, would he not have denied it by now?"

You know how sometimes, people say the exact wrong things and you feel like your world is crashing down around you? They say things like that, and you feel like every sorrow you went through to achieve joy wasn't worth it for this newfound misery? That's what Maron felt like. But, unlike when that happens to most of us, she actually knew how to deal with the situation. Well, up to this point anyways. After that, it was probably back to the 'broken doll' thing.

"Is it true?" she asked Chiaki quietly, and he pretended not to hear her.

"Is it true, Chiaki?" she asked in a louder voice, but a much colder one. "And tell me the _truth_." Well, seeing as he had lied to her so much in the past, it looked like it was about time he started to tell the truth.

"It is true," he said softly, looking at her limp form apologetically for a few moments, then looking down at the ground in shame. Screw honesty; how could he have caused her so much _pain?_

She looked as if her sorrow was beyond tears. Or sobs, at least. Tears were rolling silently down her already-streaked face, and her eyes were turning red. She just kneeled numbly on the ground, not bothering to wipe her tears away. Two agents finally dragged her up, exerting more force than Chiaki thought necessary. They then dragged her forward. 

Normally, Maron would have been kicking and struggling and screaming, but she was still in shock. They forced her down on the wooden platform, binding ropes that chafed her skin even more around her waist and underneath the board. They looped a rope around her neck, wrists, and ankles. She was breathing heavily and brokenly, not sobbing anymore, and tears were no longer rolling down her face. But she was afraid.

"Don't worry," Nightmare said, seeing the fear in Maron's eyes. "Pain is just fear leaving the body." Chiaki glared at her.

"Just how could you do this?!?" he asked her loudly, his voice echoing in the huge chamber. "What did we ever do to you!?"

"That is a very good question," Nightmare said, and Chikai knew that she was going to answer it, though not the way he wanted. He was right. "But the better question is, what did you ever do _for_me?" Chiaki remained silent, because she was right. No one had wanted to be nice to her; no one had even bothered to pretend to care.

"I know what that's like," Maron said. "I don't think anyone at school really likes me, except Minazuki, Miyako, and Chiaki." She continued, and Chiaki wondered why in the seven hells she was comforting the psycho who was going to kill them all.

"Yeah, well, I _know_ no one likes me, and I'm not excluding anyone." She paused, and a dreamy look crossed her face. "In Japan, I mean."

"So, you have friends somewhere else?" Maron asked, and then it hit Chiaki like a ton of bricks(only not as heavy): She was trying to convince Nightmare tha tshe had friends.

"Yeah, well, thanks to my dad I'll never see them again. Ohh, I miss France…" she trailed off again, and Jean-Paul was looking at her suspiciously.

"Elle fait essayant pour mystifier vous{1}!!" Jean-Paul screamed at her, drowning out whatever Maron said next. Nightmare's eyes narrowed, and she reached for the lever that, when rotated enough, would rip Maron's head off. Maron looked at her calmly.

"Y-you will welcome _death_?" Nightmare choked out, hands unconsciously moving up to grip her head form the sudden exploding pain.

"There is nothing anyone can do to stop it," Maron replied, and the fear in her eyes disappeared. 

Nightmare was gasping in great breaths of air, her head bowed and clutched in her hands. She was gripping her head so tightly that her claws had dug into her skin, causing blood to mingle with the tears of pain running down her face. As her on blood oozes onto her hands, the symbol on her forehead began to fade fromblack to a light silver-grey. Suddenly, a great burst of light exploded from her forehead, and all the agents covered their eyes and winced.

"_Elle fait essayant pour mystifier vous!!" _Jean-Paul screamed even louder in a last attempt. Sadly, it worked. The silver-grey mark turned black in an instant,  though it did not seem that the pain in Nightmare's head disappeared.

"Take her off," she said to the agents, gesturing with her hand that still had a few droplets of blood at the fingertips. The agents just stared at her, dumbfounded.

"_Take her off_," she repeated, and they nodded, as it finally dawned on them.

They dragged the two teenagers through uncountable, long hallways. Finally, they reached a set of stairs, which they were dragged roughly up. Finally, they reached the ground outside the hospital, and it was night again. Maron looked up at the moon; even though it was only a quarter moon, it was still beautiful.

"Look, if you're doing this because we're kaitous-" Chiaki started, but Nightmare cut him off.

"Don't flatter yourselves. We just need to kill two people at all of the stages of the moon, and we really wanted to get you brats out of our way. For different reasons then you may think, though."

"What are those reasons?" Maron asked, still ignoring Chiaki. Well, OK, ignoring = looking like she wanted to rip him to shreds but couldn't because of the agents holding her.  

"When you die and if you go to Heaven, as your precious God." She snarled, then drew out a long, sharp rapier. "Now," she said, gesturing to a small pile of weapons. "Kaitou Sindbad, _you_ pick your weapon," she paused as he chose a dagger.

"And now," she struck a fighting stance, her right hand holding the sword above her head and behind her where it glimmered in the moonlight. "We duel,"

And so she lunged forward, sword glittering in the moonlight with her fangs, but Maron reached out instinctively and grabbed Nightmare's hair with her only free hand. So when Nightmare tried to run, Maron yanked her hair back hard in that moment, and thrust her face into Nightmare's.

"How do _you_ like it?"

Nightmare snarled and shot her leg up into Maron's stomach, sending her flying back, completely wounded.

"If your girlfriend interferes once again, then my sword will meet her stomach instead of her foot." She told Chiaki, though now it looked like the other agents were giving Maron a clear Path to Nightmare.

Chiaki mostly tried to avoid Nightmare, though she was smaller, lighter, and faster than him. She had already cut his cheek, his shoulder, his arm, and she was still getting started. They were shallow cuts, and hardly hurt to him, but they were all bleeding steadily. Nightmare slammed her knee into his stomach, winding him, and threw him down. She then dropped on her knees and held her fist a centimeter above his face though he was winded, he slammed his knee up, much as she had, and propelled her backwards over him. She landed flat on her back, three feet away from him.

The agents were, naturally, in shock. They gaped as Nightmare lay unmoving on the ground for a minute while Chiaki gathered his breath. Then she jumped up without warning and chose another weapon; a broadsword. This was heavier and shorter, so it hindered her reach and speed. However, Chiaki's weapon was even shorter, so it didn't make much difference. Chiaki was slowly becoming tired, though Nightmare seemed to have endless energy.

"Come on, sit up, brother dearest," she said. "I didn't mean to hurt you. It will all be over soon; you won't feel much pain. At least, I hope not, for I would not know, having never died before."

Chiaki glared at her and jumped to his feet, much in the same way she had. She lunged, but he was ready for her this time. He didged, and she thrust her sword forward in a stabbing motion. When her hand was directly next to him, Chiaki smacked it roughly with the hilt of his dagger, causing her to lose grip on the broadsword, and it clattered to the ground. She snarled and swung her hand out in a wide ark, scratching his hand deeply and causing him to drop the dagger. Now, they were both unarmed.

"Now the _real_ fun begins," Nightmare said softly, striking a fighting stance, with her fists up. He sighed and mirrored her position, and they both stared each other fearlessly in the eyes. And then she ran towards him.

He had a feeling he really, _really wasn't going to like this…_

~End Chapter 7~

A.N.: OK, I finally finished this, and it was waaaay off my weekly update schedule. But that's what happens when I post a chapter early and you don't review. I might have to change the weekly update date to Saturday now. I mean, because I haven't even started chapter eight yet, and it has a huge chunk of the plot in it. Luckily, I have it almost all planned out. Anyways, pretty please review.

{1}She is trying to trick you is what that means. Sorry, the French should stop here and now, or halfway through next chapter. Sorry again.

-Knife thrower


	8. Chapter 8

Broken Melody

Chapter 8

Alive

"_I call my friends they just keep dying, people round me always crying, in this place that I'd like to call my home __" Moving On- _Good Charlotte 

Wow, thirteen reviews, I was kind of hoping for more, but I can accept that. I mean, KKJ isn't a very well-known series. But, anyways, I hope to get this story finished; I have never finished a chapter story, so, I really like how this is turning out. Please review!

Thanks to Jo-Ryan-Salazar, for being an utterly devoted reviewer. I bow down!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She came flying at him with a kick, and nearly caught him, but he ducked, just out of reflex. Jean-Paul was screaming at her in French still, but Chiaki ignored him. He had to concentrate on staying alive. She obviously didn't care if she killed him, but the agents were watching wide-eyed, ready to interfere and finish him off if she lost strength.

She kept on trying to hit him, and though she was incredibly fast, she was also tired from running through the long stone hallways for a long time. So while this slowed her down a little, she was still faster than him. They shoved Maron forward into the wide circle that the agents had formed, and she stumbled slightly. Then she realized exactly what she had to do. Nightmare was focusing very hard on Chiaki, trying to hit him. She had succeeded a few times, though they were not the strongest of hits.

Every time she threw herself in to attack, she stepped with the left foot, so she could kick with her right leg, drop it down, and punch with her right arm. Maron crept up slowly behind Nightmare, and as Nightmare leaned back on her left foot to step forward, Maron stuck her foot in front of Nightmare's left foot, so she tripped, and as she was falling, she grabbed her hair again and pulled roughly. Nightmare snarled and kicked her legs back, but Maron just flipped quickly over to face her, still holding her hair.

Nightmare was practically screaming in pain, and her scalp was bleeding, staining her hair with red, but Maron still held on. Nightmare knew she couldn't move until she freed her hair, and if any agents tried to interfere, than they would simply drop dead, because of an old type of Magic. This Magic is called a Binding Spell, and what it does is it binds the people competing or fighting against each other, so if any cheat methods are attempted, than the party that tried to cheat would drop dead. It dropped out of use thousands of years ago, but as most of the Elders of the Shadow clan had helped develop that particular spell, so it was not entirely forgotten. It also bound them so if one died, the other might suffer a serious injury. It was not predictable, and it usually didn't work, so the spell basically dropped out of all knowledge.

 But, the agents couldn't really do anything. Maron was clinging on to Nightmare's hair with what little strength she had left. She had Nightmare in such an uncomfortable position that even a slight movement would yank her hair even harder. Her scalp continued to bleed, and Maron was still tugging every once in a while to remind Nightmare that if she tried to move, her hair would basically be ripped out by the roots.

Then the symbol on Nightmare's forehead burst with light again, and by reflex, Maron's hands lost their grip on Nightmare's head and flew up to shield her eyes. The agents were doing the same, wincing as the light shone even brighter as Nightmare tilted her head back. Her body floated gently up, as if invisible arms held her now-limp form in the air. Her legs hung limply from the knee down, and her arms trailed as she floated higher and higher. The black wings literally shattered like glass, the fragments flying everywhere, but scratching no one.

The light dimmed enough for everyone to watch without covering their eyes. The two teenagers stood in shock as Nightmare floated and hung there in the air. Her chest rose and fell heavily as tears fell unchecked from her closed eyes.

And then, more light exploded from her forehead, but it was not golden like the last burst of light. It was silver, and reflected the light of the moon as it spread out into several rays. One ray exploded out towards Jean-Paul; he ducked, but it hit Nikolai, who was behind him. Nikolai instantly turned to a pile of grey ashes, which immediately burst into flame.

And so Nikolai, the only agent from Russia, passed into the eternal sleep, never to be seen again.

Nikolai screamed in rage, his eyes practically bursting out of his head as he grabbed Nightmare's discarded sword and lunged at Maron. By reflex, she kicked up and sent the sword spinning out of his hand to become stuck in the ground feet away. However, she kicked up a bit too late. She hit his hand, but the curved blade nicked her calf a little. Except the sword wasn't exactly dull, and it was a long cut. As the first droplets of blood oozed out of the cut, Maron swore under her breath and ripped the bottom of her shirt. She bundled the torn strip of cloth into a rag of sorts, and applied pressure to the cut to stop the bleeding.

Chiaki took this opportunity to move closer to her. He crouched beside her, and whispered to her,

"I'm sorry I lied," 

She took a deep breath, and looked him squarely in the eyes. Her own eyes were watering and full of internal torture, but she replied to him with a mostly even voice:

"I'm sorry I believed you,"

They had become completely oblivious to the events unfolding before the agents' eyes. Nightmare was slowly shifting back to Indigo, though her scalp still bled. Her eyes opened, and though they were back to their light blue, they were empty and void-like, with no pupils. Her wounds had become deeper and far more fatal, and they were bleeding seriously. Her hair was the last thing to change back, and the dark blue strands were stained and crusted with dry and still-flowing blood. Her lifeless body fell lightly to the ground with a soft _thud_. The agents turned and fled as if a pack of hellhounds were at their backs.

Maron got up and rushed over to Indigo, ignoring the blood that still fell from the cut on her leg. Chiaki grabbed her arm and pointed to the east. The sun had begun to rise without them noticing.

She nodded silently, and brushed Indigo's red-stained hair back from her forehead. Her forehead still bore the mark of the Shadow, and Chiaki knew that she would carry it forever. Indigo let out a soft moan under the light touch of Maron's fingers, and Maron pressed the back of her hand to her cheek. She recoiled almost instantly, however, as she was running a burning fever. __

_But she's so pale,_ Maron thought. Then she realized that Indigo was also lying in a small pool of her own blood, so it was probably normal for her to lack color so drastically.

"Leave her," he told her, and his voice sounded odd and distant to him. "My father will be here in a matter of minutes." 

They were both weary beyond words, and Maron's head still throbbed painfully, but they were alive.

Leaning on each other, the two teenagers walked back across town in the fading darkness.

They hobbled awkwardly into the lobby, and it was very quiet. They took the elevators, and Chiaki walked Maron back to her apartment.

"Forgive me?" he asked her, a pleading look in his deep amber eyes. She took another deep breath and leaned against her doorway heavily.

"I will think about it," she said. "But before I decide, we need to talk about what else you lied to me about." She glanced at the lightening sky and a small smile appeared on her face.

"Though right now is probably not the best time."

And with that she disappeared into her apartment.

Chiaki sighed. Of all the things she wanted to talk about. She wanted to talk about the lies he'd told to her, and that alone could take hours. And then he would have to tell her about Finn; there was no more avoiding it. He walked into his apartment and flopped himself facedown on the coach. And, without realizing it, the two teenagers drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nagoya Kaiki whistled as he walked towards the doors of his hospital, keys jangling in one hand. Something caught the side of his eye however, and he turned slowly. The keys slipped from his fingers as he stumbled against the doorframe in shock. Because what ha caught his eye was his own daughter, cut and injured, and laying in a pool of her own blood.

He ran as fast as he could over to his barely-breathing daughter and gasped in shock. Not only was she cut and bloodied, she was running the highest fever he'd ever felt and blood was trickling out of the corner of her eyes.{1} Her skin, normally a tanned color was unhealthily pale. As Kaiki knelt next to his daughter, whose own heartbeat was pumping her blood out of her body, he knew that she would not survive.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The girl who had died and then joined the Shadow, Morganna, watched the whole scene from another building. She had witnessed Nightmare's defeat, and knew that She was not going to be happy about this. She made a mental note to start working on a plan to kill Kusakabe Maron.

She snapped her fingers, and several Shadow demons appeared in the air by her.

"I want you to follow Maron's every movement. If you see a chance to kill her, take it, but make it look like an accident. These silly humans must not get suspicious."

The Shadow demons nodded as well as their twisted body shape would allow, and flew off in different directions. She snapped her fingers again, twice this time, and another set of smaller, darker Shadow demons appeared where the others had previously been.

"I want you to keep an eye on Fish Finn, our newly-awoken Shadow demon. If she starts to switch over, Summon me."

The demons nodded(and their body structure was much more suited to the movement), and flew off.

She snapped her fingers thrice, and three small, dragon-like creatures appeared, carrying the corpse of the unfortunate messenger who had corrupted Nightmare, and, apparently, not done a very good job of it. She aimed one finger like a gun at the body, and a beam of fire erupted from it. The corpse was soon charred black. The dragons looked at each other anxiously. She ordered them in some strange language, and they nodded. 

She sighed, rolled her eyes, and nodded. The dragons gave off a small scream of joy, before ripping hungrily into the carcass. Morganna snorted and disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kaiki hesitated outside his daughter's room in the hospital. Only hours ago he had thought she was dead, and now she was OK. Weak, but alive. But had he or his nurses and doctors arrived a minute later, she would have been dead. He took a deep breath and walked in. A fond smile appeared on his face as he saw her peaceful, sleeping form. He took a seat on one of the hard, plastic chairs by the bed, lay his head by hers on the pillow, and fell asleep.

Chiaki arrived, only two hours later, and walked towards Indigo's room. He leaned against the doorframe, and saw his dad there. He sighed; you had to feel sorry for him-he'd arrived at the hospital and seen his daughter's beaten and bloodied body there. From what he could tell, she had been almost dead when he and Maron had left her. And now, here she was, alive.

He had never experienced anything as magical as that. It was odd, that Kaiki had not seen Indigo since she was three or four, and he still loved her. _I don't think he ever meant to lose her for so long,_ Chiaki thought, looking at his family.

His family. He hadn't really had a family for a long time; his mother was dead and until Indigo had come, he hadn't remembered that she existed. And until recently, he'd hated his dad. But now he had a father and a sister. A family.

~~~~~~~~~

Maron awoke with a yawn. She sat up in bed and stretched, and looked out her window to see the busy afternoon traffic. She didn't care if she was missing school; she didn't even know what day of the week it was, or how long hse had been with Nikolai and Jean-Paul and Nightmare.

_Nightmare._ She shuddered as she remembered what could have, and almost did, happened to her. There were two things from that that night that she would always remember; the drawing and quartering machine, and Nightmare's body, after the fight and transformation back. She shuddered again and walked back out onto the balcony, running a hand through her damp hair. She leaned out over the rail, closed her eyes and let the breeze cool her skin. 

Now that Chiaki knew how she felt, she wasn't sure how _he_ felt. He was always saying how he loved her and being crazy, but he'd been so quiet after she'd answered Nightmare's question. And, it felt like he was avoiding the subject. Now that she thought about it, he'd always avoided the subject of the two kaitous, too.

She sighed. She didn't want to think about what that could mean. She let her thoughts drift back to Chiaki, though. She remembered the times that he had gotten away from the hordes of rabid girls and had been so much easier to talk to, and had stopped making perverted comments. His smile was such a real smile, it reached his eyes and it always made her feel like everything would be OK.

She shook her head, trying to rid herself of thoughts of him. Her thoughts instead settled on her parents. She hadn't checked her mailbox since she had seen that poem painted in it, and s from what she had seen, the mailbox had been empty anyways. She was the only person she could think of who didn't have a family. Chiaki had his sister now, and his father, and Miyako had her parents and brother, and Iinchou had his parents.

Oh, well. Loneliness is something she was used to. But for some weird reason, she didn't care as much as she used to.

Because they were _alive._

~~~~~~~~~~

Baaaah. Bad chapter, it's too short. Oh, well, that's what happens when I'm sick almost all week and got a late start to begin with. I am so, so sorry. Expect chapter nine to be on schedule!

Please review,

Knife Thrower


	9. Chapter 9

Broken Melody

Chapter 9

Conversations and Explanations

"_So here we are now, a sip of wine, a sip of water. Someday maybe, maybe someday we'll be smarter." If You Don't, Don't-_Jimmy Eat World

I wanted to celebrate this story going on for a certain length, but chapter 10-celebration is overused, so I chose chapter nine! It's an uber-long chapter, and it's dedicated to Jo-Ryan-Salazar. Enjoy the utter long-ness of this chapter, and please please please please please in the name of Orlando Bloom, review! Warning: This chapter also covers some very dark material; I warned you, so please believe me when I say there is dark stuff in this chapter.

Oh, and the rating **might** go up because I'm considering making Indigo a bad-girl punkish-type person. Tell me in a review if I should or not.

Standard disclaimers apply, it's pretty obvious who and what I made up. And once again, everything I made up is mine and my own. Use it in anything like an RPG or story without asking and I find out, I **will **alert the fanfiction.net people.

~~~~~~~~~

Chiaki heard someone clear their throat behind him, and he turned, surprised, as his father woke up. Standing behind him, holding a suitcase with a purse slung over a shoulder, was a girl. But not just any girl, she was a French girl who had long light blonde hair, with blue hair extensions clipped on. As a matter of fact, the blue matched Indigo's hair.

She cleared her throat again.

"I'm Antonia, Indigo's friend from France. U-um, my parents heard she was… not well again, so they let me come and visit her. The girl in the apartment next to yours said she was here. Can I see her?"

Chiaki stared at her, then motioned over his shoulder to the room. Antonia was wearing a long-sleeved pale green T-shirt and jean pants, with a green ribbon holding back her hair. She walked by him carefully, and he felt…_something_ as she passed by him. She immediately dropped her purse and suitcase and ran to Indigo's side.

"Oh, Indigo," she said, and the blue-haired girl moaned softly in her sleep. Her arms were out of the covers, and Antonia saw the cuts on them and her face and neck.

"What happened?" she asked softly.

"I don't know," Kaiki replied. "I found her like that this morning, out on the lawn. She'd been there for hours, and had lost a lot of blood. It's a miracle she's still alive."

"Did she..?" Antonia began, but trailed off with a quick glance over her shoulder at Chiaki, who was thinking, _What the Hell is going on?_

"No, but we haven't even the smallest clue as to who did do it. We can't even go to the police, because there's really no proof and we can't accuse just anyone."

Antonia nodded, and Chiaki just went back to leaning on the doorframe.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm Antonia, Indigo's close friend and foster sister from France. And you are…?" she asked him skeptically, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm the owner and manager of this hospital, and Indigo's father." He replied, stroking Indigo's forehead again.

"Oh! It's a pleasure to meet you Mr…. I'm sorry, Indigo never mentioned her **real** last name, so…" Antonia trailed off again, which she seemed to do a lot, and looked at Kaiki expectantly.

"Nagoya," he told her firmly, "Kaiki Nagoya. If you add up all her names, she's Nagoya Indigo Gin Hermione Tama Marie Antoinette Rachel Eileen." They both laughed.

"Quite a mouthful," Antonia said. "My initials spell out 'Amour', which is a French word for 'love'."

"What's your full name?" Chiaki asked, just out of curiosity.

"Antonia Maria Ophelia Urania Rebecca. You really don't want to know what my parents were thinking when they named me. They wanted each of my names to represent them, which makes sense in a sick and twisted way." She told him, looking slightly embarrassed at her list of odd names.

"How does it represent them?" Kaiki asked, looking vaguely interested.

"Antonia is my great-grandmother's name, a family name; my mom's saint name is Maria Goretti; Ophelia is a character from _Hamlet_, which both of my parents supposedly loved; Urania, they had some friend named that, she O.D.'d a couple years back, I think; and Rebecca is the name of my dad's second wife, it was added recently."

"Wait a second, if you're a foster kid, how do you know you're parents?" Chiaki asked her, joining the conversation again.

"Well, they took me out of there when Rebecca overdosed, and my mom and dad got back together. They were afraid I'd start snorting pot or whatever. I have the opportunity to see my parents, but I never want to again. Bad memories, like the time one of their friends tried to sell me ecstasy." She said. It was dark stuff, but she seemed to be mostly over it.

"No offense, but you're making it seem like this is every-day kiddy stuff. If this is the kind of bedtime story you're going to tell you're kids, then I really think someone needs to be told."

"Oh, it was years ago. And besides, a few years ago, I ran away to L.A., and there I literally lived on the streets. A couple weeks living on the streets seeing everything, and I mean _everything_ happen will do that to you. I was really shaken up when I came back, but that was a while ago, so it's OK now." She replied, once again looking calm. Well, actually, her face looked more than calm, it was devoid of any human emotion.

"Wow, your life sucked for a while," Chiaki commented. Antonia laughed.

"I think that would be correct." She replied, then she turned back to Kaiki.

"I have to go check into my hotel room now and unpack, I'll be back in a couple of hours, is that OK?" she asked him.

"It'll be fine, it looks lie I'll be here all night," he told her, and she walked by Chiaki again. But this time, he didn't get that weird feeling.  
  


After she'd left, Chiaki turned to Kaiki.

"You know something else about Antonia; what?" he asked him, crossing his arms over his chest.

"She was pretty depressed, then she met Indigo. What she **didn't** tell you is she went to L.A. looking for Indigo, except she forgot to take enough money with her. Luckily, Indigo found her three weeks after she arrived." He replied softly, still stroking Indigo's face.

"Oh, that would explain a…_lot_. I have to go now, too, Dad, OK?" he said, turning to walk out the door.

"I'll see you soon, Chiaki," he told his son as he walked out the door.

~~~~~~~~

Maron was still on her balcony, thinking. It was later, but there was so much on her mind. She sighed heavily as she remembered the French girl that had come looking for Indigo. Half of her had actually wanted to lie, because she was so beautiful and Chiaki was there, but she'd squashed that thought instantly and directed her to the hospital. Luckily, she'd been learning English and the girl knew quite a bit of Japanese, so there really wasn't much of a language barrier.

She heard a knock at her door, and walked slowly through her apartment to open it. It was Chiaki, looking thoughtful and worried, obviously thinking about Indigo.

"Do you want to come in?" she asked him softly, because he was avoiding her gaze and hadn't said anything since she'd opened the door. _Stupid French girl,_ she thought, and she felt her heart sink.

"Can I?" he asked, and she opened the door a little wider and stepped out of his way. He followed her into her living room, and sat down across from her on a couch.

"What you said down there," he began, and she didn't have to ask where 'down there' was. She knew he meant where Nightmare and Jean-Paul and the others had kept them. "Did you mean it?"

"I said a lot of things," she said evasively, even though she knew exactly what he meant.

"I think you know what I mean," he said softly. "_Did you mean it?_" he repeated in an even softer voice, so she could barely hear him. She felt uncomfortable telling him how she felt now that she knew he was Sindbad and probably everything that he'd ever told her was a lie.

"Yes," she said softly, looking at the ground. She shifted position, and heard him get up after a few moments, and decided she didn't want to see him leave. Instead, however, she felt him sit down next to her and wrap his arms around her. His face was rested on her shoulder next to her ear, and he held her tight and close.

She sighed and leaned back against him, letting him hold her. Normally, she probably would have smacked him, but now it just felt so _right_. When he finally let go of her, he rested his forehead against hers, and the closeness made her heart rate speed up.

"Good," he whispered, "Because I'd hate for it to be unrequited love," She smiled at him, and he grinned back at her.

~~~~~~~~~

Mariana growled in rage as she watched the two kaitous confess their feelings. Jean-Paul stood beside her, though he contained his rage much better than her.

When she was still seething, a messenger made the mistake of approaching her. He wouldn't make that mistake again; as a matter of fact, he wouldn't make any mistakes again because she'd killed him.

She also watched Antonia very, very carefully.

"There's something about that girl," she told Jean-Paul. "And I don't like that we don't know. Send some Shadow agents to go find out." She bared her fangs before continuing. "And if she presents a problem, kill her,"

Jean-Paul smiled, hiding his rage at being ordered around by a mere female. "Yes, my Lady," he said, and left the room, fully aware that she was watching him.

~~~~~~~~~~

Indigo slowly opened her eyes, and blinked as the harsh white lights hit them. Her father was still by her side, even though it was dark outside and he hadn't eaten anything today. She yawned and tried to sit up, but she still felt too weak. Her arms collapsed underneath her, and she fell back.

"You've lost too much blood; you'll be weak for a while," Chiaki said. He'd **finally** moved from the doorway to next to her bed, and was sitting in one of those uncomfortable chairs.

"Why are you here?" she asked him, not bothering to hide her surprise.

"I'm your _brother_," he reminded her.

"Well, you don't know anything about me. Not really, anyways. I haven't seen you since I was three or four." She said. She was speaking very quietly because it hurt to talk too loudly. And she was tired and weak and didn't want to wake Kaiki up.

"Well, we're related, aren't we?" he asked her, raising an eyebrow. 

She grinned slightly. "Unfortunately, yes," she replied, and a slight sparkle appeared in her currently dull eyes. He laughed.

"Maron kicked you out of her apartment, didn't she?" Indigo asked him. He glared at her.

"No, she did _not._" He told her, and then he had to gloat. "I'm her boyfriend now," he told her. "Sort of. Or whatever,"

She raised an eyebrow. "So you're Maron's sort-of boyfriend, or whatever. Are you _always_ this illiterate?" she asked him.

"No, but yesterday morning I had to get up at an ungodly hour to save my objection of affection's life, and I haven't slept at all tonight. I've been living off of hospital coffee, give me a break please." He said, burying his face in his hands.

"And I did not ask for a soap-opera worthy response." She said, her grin becoming weaker on her pale, thin face.

"Shut up," he said resentfully, scowling and crossing his arms over his chest. And after a few more minutes, they both fell asleep. His excuse? Decaf coffee doesn't exactly give you a caffeine high. Hers? She'd almost just died. Shut up.

Antonia arrived shortly after they both fell into the dark depths of sleep. She smiled at the sleeping Indigo, and her smile faded slightly when she saw Chiaki. Or, rather, disappeared from her face. She frowned as she watched the blue-haired boy sleep peacefully (or, at least, it _looked_ to be peaceful), and Indigo toss and turn fitfully in her sleep. Kaiki had already left; probably work had pulled him away. She settled herself down into his chair and opened up a heavy textbook and began studying, while waiting for Indigo to wake up.

Chiaki awoke a few minutes later; she thought he had heard her, but in reality, he had remembered what had almost happened underground.

"Antonia? What are you doing here?" he asked blankly.

"I could ask you the same," she said coldly, slamming her book shut. He just stared at her blankly.

"I'm her brother," he said, "I was _worried_." She glared at him.

"Why? You don't know her," she pointed out, and it didn't seem like she wanted a reply.

"You make it sound like that's _my_ fault, like _I'm_ the one who sent her to an orphanage." He said, surprised at her bitterness.

"I don't really care if I hurt your feelings or not; she's my friend, and you look like the kind of jerk that would purposely hurt her," she snapped at him, standing up, her heavy book falling to the ground with a loud _thunk_.

He stood up as well. "It's nice to know you're judging your supposed-friend's brother without getting to know him," he said coldly. "As far as I can tell, you're just a mean little bitch who realizes this and needs to take it out on someone else, and because you don't know me, you chose me. And you know what? I don't think Indigo is the sort of person who would befriend a brat like you, so obviously you don't treat her like shit."

She just gaped at him after his little speech. He bent down and picked up her book and bag, both of which lay forgotten on the floor.

"I suggest you leave now," he said coldly, gesturing towards the door. She walked off, but before stepping out of the room, she looked over her shoulder.

"I still have more things to say to you, but Indigo might hear and I don't want to trouble her," she said, trying to sound like the bigger person.

"If she heard what you've already said, then she's troubled enough," he replied calmly, and she turned on her heel and stormed down the hallway. Kaiki arrived as soon as she had left, looking very, very baffled. Then he saw Chiaki and his eye narrowed.

"What did you _say _to her? She was practically screaming in French!" Kaiki said to his son.

"Well, she called me a jerk, so I said the same thing with a different choice of words, and gave the psychological reasoning behind what she said," he replied innocently. Kaiki smacked his forehead.

"How much of that is lies?" he asked in an exasperated voice.

"None of it!" Chiaki said indignantly.

Kaiki shrugged and left without another word, and Chiaki muttered under his breath for a few minutes, and then Indigo opened her eyes again. She actually managed to sit up, with some help from Chiaki.

"I know you want to know a lot of stuff, so call Maron, and when she gets here, I'll explain." Indigo whispered to him. He nodded and left the room for about two minutes, the returned and nodded at her.

"She's on her way," he told her, and she looked relived. A few minutes later, Maron ran into the room, breathless. She sat down in a chair next to Chiaki's, and he wrapped his arm around her. Indigo raised an eyebrow at the couple, but didn't say anything.

"So," she began, "What do you want to know?" Her question got both the kaitous thinking.

"Everything," Maron said calmly. "We want to know who those people were, what they want, what powers they have, and why they're here," she continued, and Chiaki couldn't have put it better himself.

"Well, the question isn't _who _those people are, it's _what_ they are," Indigo said quietly, suddenly finding great interest in the white bedspread. It was obvious what she was thinking; she was wondering if she was still one of the Shadow-people. And though they would have liked to tell her she wasn't, they could not honestly tell her that because they didn't know.

"What are they?" Chiaki asked, breaking the silence.

"They're Shadow-people, as you may have gathered. Shadow-people look a bit like humans, though they are taller and far stronger. Every single Shadow-person has control of Dark magic, but some of the more powerful ones, such as Jean-Paul, control all different sorts of magic, and all elements too. They are generally content to live alone, underground, in large colonies and ignore us, but ever since the kaitous- you two- began checkmating, things became more complicated for them, as the Devil took their lands over and forced them to go out and attack; though they didn't resist much."

Maron and Chiaki nodded, and Chiaki looked as if something had suddenly dawned on him.

"That morning that you first came, that phone conversation I overheard- _you mentioned Jean-Paul_. I _knew_ his name sounded familiar!" he said out loud to Indigo.

And then it hit her, too.

"Chiaki, you're _right_!" she said. "I was talking to Antonia and…ohh, shit." She said, trailing off suddenly and looking terrified.

"What?" Maron asked, looking very alarmed. "What's wrong?"

"Antonia's here, right?" Indigo asked. "You told me that, Chiaki." She continued slowly, and she took in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"So what?" Chiaki asked scornfully, and Maron shot him a glare.

"Well, do you remember what I said about Jean-Paul in that conversation?" Indigo asked, still talking slowly and looking very worried.

"Yeah, you asked Antonia if Gregoire-Jean was still her ballet teacher and partner, and then you said, 'You know, after the whole Jean-Paul thing'. I wondered what you meant, but I didn't ask." He said, slightly confused.

"Well, the whole… Jean-Paul thing… is just, well, I don't know what to say," Indigo said, trailing off. "Well, Jean-Paul was her ballet teacher and he tried to…" she trailed off, but there was no need to finish the sentence. Maron looked very upset and clenched the arms of her chair until her knuckles were white.

"But that's not it. After her parents yanked her out of his class, he followed her around, broke into her house, and tried again. Her parents then moved, but he kept on following her. She wasn't liked very much by the police, because she hung out with a lot of people that had been seen doing drugs and drinking- though she never did- so they wouldn't believe her and didn't arrest Jean-Paul. That's another reason why she was moved out of her home," as she told the story, Chiaki and Maron became just as worried as her.

"So, Jean-Paul was obsessed with her… and now she's here where he is. I'm betting he's watching her right now; probably plotting underground or something," Maron said. Indigo nodded.

"There's nothing we can do to help her, is there?" Chiaki asked. "I mean, I don't particularly like her, but I don't think _anyone_ deserves that." He added quickly.

"Well, nothing really," Indigo admitted. "He's too strong. I hate this!" she shouted the last bit, slamming her bandaged hand down onto the mattress.

"We're completely and totally helpless, just watching our fate unfold before our eyes. I wish we could change things; stop horrible things from happening" she continued.

"Maybe we can," Maron said, "But Chiaki and I don't even know what we're up against. Can we go on?" she asked, and Indigo nodded reluctantly.

"What they want," Indigo said, "Is to kill you. For starters. Then, they want to take over. I do believe they told you about the stages-of-the-moon sacrificing thing? I really don't understand it, and really, neither do they, they just know they have to do it to gain the power to completely take over. So, that's their long-term goal. To take over Earth and kill most, if not all, humans," she said this very cheerfully and rapidly, which disturbed Chiaki.

"Oh, joy," Maron said dryly.

"What powers they have? Shadow magic, elemental magic, and a vast knowledge of weapons. Why they're here? I just told you that. Anything else?" she said all this briskly, and Maron and Chiaki shook their heads in a dumbfounded 'no'.

"So, could you please leave then? I'm tired, and I'm sure you two need to talk," Indigo pointed out.

"Well, actually, I was hoping we could talk with you here," she confessed.

"Why?" Indigo asked, and Maron looked pointedly at her.

"To keep me from killing him, in case the need arises," she said calmly, and Indigo laughed.

"I'm sure, unfortunately for me, my brother will survive, so you can leave," she said happily.

And so Maron and Chiaki let themselves out, and walked quietly down the hallways and out of the hospital. As soon as the left the hospital, he tried to hold her hand. He was successful.

"Where do you want to go?" he asked her.

"The park?" she suggested, and they turned left when they got to the corner and entered the park. They found a nice, quiet deserted corner, and sat down.

"Why did you lie to me?" she asked him, and he flinched. The question he really, _really _didn't want to answer.

"It was Access's idea," he began, "He basically said, 'HEY! You have a rival!' and then told me that if I made you fall in love with me, then broke your heart and told you the truth, then you would stop checkmating. You weren't supposed to be so _perfect_," he told her.

"I'm flattered you think I'm perfect," she said sarcastically, and then she got serious. "So, basically, you were supposed to come, make me fall in love with you, then rip out my heart like I wasn't a human being who deserved better?" she asked him.

"I think I like the way _I_ worded it more," he said, trailing off. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"The choice of words doesn't really make much of a difference; it's still the same thing," she pointed out, and he hated to admit she was right.

"I also wasn't supposed to fall in love with you," he told her, and she buried her face in her hands.

"This is just one huge mess," she said. "You lied about falling in love with me, and then I fell in love with you, and then you fell in love with me but couldn't tell me. Why _didn't_ you tell me?" She asked him.

"Finn had already told you that we were servants of the Devil; who would you have believed then?" she nodded and he continued. "Maron, there's something else Finn lied to you about," he told her.

"What?" she asked slowly.

"Well, _Finn_ was the one working for the Devil the whole time. Not us." He told her. She took a sharp intake of breath, and her shoulders shook. She looked up at him.

"I'm really that stupid to trust everyone, aren't I? That's why she knew she could get away with it; that's how you knew, too-or at least Access did," she said, tears falling gently from her eyes.

"I didn't think you were stupid," he said. "I just fell in love with you decently soon, so I didn't have to act after a while." He said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders comfortingly. She nodded and leaned her head on his shoulder, unaware that someone had seen, but not heard, them.

Iinchou.

~~~~~~~~~

Indigo was reading in her bed, an immensely thick book called The Stand. {1} She seemed to be about half-way through it, and enjoying it, too. Antonia watched her read for a while, then stepped into the room.

"Your brother's not coming here soon, is he?" she asked carefully.

"Nope, he's off talking with his girlfriend," Indigo replied without looking up. Antonia looked slightly upset and surprised at the news.

"He has a girlfriend?" she asked.

"Yeah, he's generally nice to people who are nice to him. Karma or whatever. Hey, what's the matter?" she'd said most of this while still reading, and at Antonia's silence, she looked up and saw the frustrated look on Antonia's face. "What did you _say_?"

"Some things I shouldn't have and regret now. He just makes me feel so weird inside," she said quietly. Indigo understood.

"You think you might like him," she said calmly. Antonia's face lit up.

"Do you think I have a chance with him?" she asked Indigo eagerly. Indigo didn't want to break her friend's heart, but she had to know.

"No," she said, "You don't. He's completely in love with someone else. He'd do _anything_ for her." She added. Antonia's face fell, and she sighed.

"What is it about him?" she asked. "Why do I want him so much?"

"I'm the wrong person to ask; I'm his forking sister," Indigo pointed out, and Antonia sighed and stood up abruptly.

"I have to go now," she said, picking up her purse.

"Wait! Antonia!" Indigo said just as suddenly.

"What?" Antonia asked. 

"I forgot to tell you," Indigo began, "But you really, _really_ need to know that Jean-Paul's here. I don't know where, but I saw him. Be _careful_," Indigo said. 

Antonia turned slowly on her heel to turn and stare at Indigo. Her eyes were wide with shock and terror, and she was breathing rapidly and heavily. She leaned against the doorframe, much as Chiaki had earlier that day, and tears began to fall from her eyes slowly, and cling to her eyelashes.

"H-here?"  She stammered, shocked. "H-he can't be _here_,"

"That's what I thought at first," Indigo agreed, "But he is. I've seen him. How he knows _you're _here is beyond me, but the point is, he's _here_," she continued.

"Here, as in Japan, or here as in this city?" Antonia asked worriedly.

"I don't know where he's staying, but earlier he was just outside my window here," Indigo replied slowly.

Antonia stood up from where she sat on the ground. "I have to go now," she said.

"Be careful," Indigo warned her. Antonia said nothing, and ran down the hall with out saying anything. Indigo sighed and leaned back against the pillows and picked up her book again, and read until the weariness of her heart overcame her body.

~~~~~~~~~~

Wow, long chapter. :P. I kind of like it. And remember Antonia, because she actually has a purpose. Sorry for the delay, my weekend was kind of crazy. I went to Mass on Saturday instead of Sunday, and then spent the night at Alyssa's. I didn't work at this at all during the week, because on Sunday we got two new video games. The one we played first, Dead or Alive X-treme Beach Volleyball, is so addictive we haven't even opened the other one, Lord of the Rings, the Two Towers.

Once again, sorry for the delay, and please review! If I don't have twenty reviews a week after chapter ten is posted, this story is as good as dead. Chapter ten will be focused more on Iinchou, and will be named after a Reel Big Fish song. Any guesses? Here's a hint: It's on the DOAXBV soundtrack. There's only two on that, so… mwahahahahaha. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS STORY WILL EFFECTIVELY BE DEAD IF I DO NOT HAVE TWENTY REVIEWS BY A WEEK AFTER POSTING CHAPTER TEN. I'm sick and tired of not getting the appreciation for the hard work I put into this story. If you like this story, please review if you want to know more. I'm seriously pissed as hell.

Now I'm going to sit back and watch people who have never reviewed before review this chapter, saying they'd loved the story from the beginning.;P.

{1}: _The Stand_ is a book by Stephen King. I've never actually read it, but I saw the mini series and my sister read it. Stephen King is popular at our house. Another movie made out of one of his books that I really suggest is _Misery, though if you scare easily, you might not want to watch it. Anyways, it sort of shows that Indigo's smart, because she's only fourteen or fifteen, and most adults can't get through Stephen King's books.  _

-Knife Thrower

Please review! 


	10. Chapter 10

Broken Melody

Chapter 10

I Want Your Girlfriend to be My Girlfriend, Too

_"She's so cute, I don't know what to do, maybe she could love me too. I want your girlfriend to be my girlfriend, too," I Want Your Girlfriend To Be My Girlfriend, Too- Reel Big Fish_

Chapter 10~! Yippie! Sorry again for the delay, but I have one 'friend' who's bitching to me about me killing her cheap-ass story I started a year ago and now hate, karate testing is in two weeks and I don't feel the least bit ready, the teachers have been throwing homework at us, our Internet has been down for a few days, and I got two new video games. Then you throw in the fact my birthday is in a week, and Issa is having problems, and the time I spend reading Boy Meets Boy, All Wishes, The Blaze Armada, and Arcana, and school, and church, my schedule is pretty much packed tight.

By the way, I might have to kill Lance, because the real Lance basically called me a sarcastic bitch. Except he said, 'you take all your sarcasm out on me,' which is not only untrue, but also using the word sarcasm wrong. I pointed out that sarcasm is not an emotion, so therefore I cannot verbally take it out on him. People gaped. P. In other words, he's being mean and saying I'm the one with the problem. I told him that my sarcasm was part of who I was, and if he couldn't accept that, then maybe I'm not the one with the problem. And he only apologized when Kristyn and Brianna ditched me after History and Literature and I spent break hanging out with Cassie and Emily and Alyssa and Catherine and Katie and Roxanne.

So, with the complaining over, onto chapter 10, which you will review, or else I will take my anger out on that eeeeevil kid at the karate studio. And then he'll blame you, and I'll have an excuse to kill him. But I prefer the reviews, thanks muchly.

~~~~~~~~

Antonia ran and ran until she reached the hotel where she was staying, she ran to the elevator, smacked the button, and, when it was taking too long, she started to head towards the stairs. But then she heard the sound of the doors opening and turned around, only to stifle a scream. Because the person in the elevator was grinning evilly, and obviously had no intention of letting her get away.

Jean-Paul.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Indigo slept uneasily that night, and woke early the next morning. She looked at the pale sky, and the world waking up underneath it. _It must be very early, she thought. She sat up weakly, and her head spun and her eyes were momentarily covered in blackness. The moment passed, but she knew she was still too weak to get out of bed._

She sighed and fell back against her pillows. She was bored in the hospital, but her dad insisted upon her staying there for at least a week. Lance had been visiting her every day, and rarely wasn't there since the first day. He didn't trust Antonia, he never had. He said that Antonia was Indigo's friend when it suited her purposes, but would trade her in in a second if it helped her in the slightest. Indigo denied this, stating that Antonia's trust and loyalty was hard to earn but worth it.

Lance knocked on the doorframe, and peered around the corner into Indigo's room. She looked bored, as usual. He couldn't understand why she wanted to get out so soon, even when she knew she was still far too weak. Yes, she was bored, but wouldn't she rather be healthy and bored as opposed to dead and preoccupied?

She saw him a few moments later, and she smiled. He came in, carrying another book, and a sketchpad and art kit. She smiled with sheer and utter joy at seeing the second thing, and threw her arms around his neck in a giant hug. He hugged her back.

"Thank you so much," she told him, and immediately opened the sketchpad, but frowned.

"What's the matter?" he asked her.

"The first picture I drew in here, the picture of Antonia, is gone. Just ripped out. And the picture I drew of Jean-Paul before I knew about him… it has a little picture of Antonia stuck on the corner of it. Weird. Oh, I must have ripped that page out and given it to Cam or something, and I just don't remember it." She commented softly, trailing off.

"Well, I think I should leave now," Lance said, seeing Kaiki, some other doctors, and some nurses walking down the hall towards Indigo's room.

"Bye, Lance," she said, as the doctors entered. One of them started telling her how much blood she had lost, how long she would be here, and that they might sign her up for counseling. She interrupted him right there.

"You don't honestly think I did this to myself," she said in disbelief.

"Well," the doctor started, but she cut him off.

"If I wanted to kill myself, I'd be dead right now. How hard do you really think it is to find an artery?" she pointed out.

"But your history-" he tried again, and she flipped him off, holding her finger up there with a dark look on her face.

"You can add that to my history," she said. "And fu-" she started to say, but Kaiki interrupted her.

"Put your finger _down_ Indigo," he said calmly. "There is no need for such behavior. If you don't want counseling, then I think we're done here." As the other doctors walked out, the one that Indigo had interrupted hesitated in the doorway, and turned to say something, but she held up her pointer finger, her ring finger, and her middle finger.

"Pick a finger, any finger," she said, and he hurried out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Iinchou hesitated to knock on Maron's door. Just as he had worked up the courage, he heard Maron and Chiaki getting out of the elevator, laughing. He turned, and saw Chiaki's arm around Maron. He didn't give them a chance to see him; he just turned and fled down the stairs.

He stood a floor below, the painful memory permanently burned into his head. With lack of something better to do, he decided to visit Chiaki's sister in the hospital. Even though it was decently far away, he decided to walk.

A while later, he walked into Indigo's room, and heard music playing softly. He was more fluent in English than anyone else, and cold understand it.

"_I want your girlfriend to be my, I want your girlfriend to be my, I want your girlfriend to be my girlfriend, too,_" the singer sang. Iinchou froze. These words suited him perfectly. Suddenly, he heard the music stop, and the girl look up from her sketch pad.

"I thought you might like to know how you feel isn't uncommon," she said. "I saw you coming from my window," she explained, misinterpreting his shocked face.

"H-how did you know…?" Iinchou asked, trailing off, and Indigo scoffed.

"It's really obvious; to me at least. You look at her like Cameron used to look at Antonia, the way he looked at me when I left France. But, I hate to tell you this, it isn't the way Chiaki looks at her." She explained.

"What do you mean, it isn't the way Chiaki looks at her?" he said, and she sighed. 

"Well, you like her a lot, but my brother," she paused and took a deep breath, "My brother loves her." She finished hesitantly. The words were like a slap across the face to Iinchou.

"O-oh..well…" Iinchou trailed off, unsure of what to say. Indigo smiled knowingly and shook her head.

"It's time to let go," she said.

"I know," he said. "But I wish I didn't." She shook her head and laughed. "What?" he asked her, irritated.

"You don't know how damn lucky you are," she said, shaking her head. "I doubt you, or the rest of the class for that matter, even know my name, and you're complaining about not finding your true love at age sixteen?" she finished, giving him a withering look that made hi feel guilty.

"You're right," he said. "Are you coming back to school on Monday?" he asked her, just to get her off the topic.

"If I have to break out of this stupid hospital to get there, then I will. I don't see the point in missing school. It's not lie I have AIDS or anything." She said firmly, and he laughed at her ending statement.

"I don't think your dad will be very happy to hear that," he said jokingly. She shrugged.

"I don't think I care," she said distantly.

"He only wants to take care of you," Iinchou told her, trying to help Kaiki's case.

"Well, he screwed that up when he sent me to an orphanage." She said angrily, and Iinchou didn't touch on the topic again.

~~~~~~~~~~

Marianna screamed in frustration, kicking at the obsidian ball she'd been using to spy on the Nightmare kaitou. She snapped her fingers, and a servant came running. Her lips spread into a wide smile that bared her glimmering white fangs.

"Get me Omega and Projeter," she said, smiling wickedly all the while. The servant's face paled noticeably, but he nodded, bowed, and ran out of the room.

Marianna's smile grew even larger; now the kaitous would find out what tricks she _really had up her sleeve. And Omega and Projeter were just the beginnings of another master plan. This one would work; she just knew it._

And the reason she knew this was because none of the three kaitous would see Omega and Projeter coming.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jean-Paul dragged Antonia into an anti-chamber. His eyes glinted with rage, his hair was unruly, but he looked better than Antonia. Her eyes were flat, cold, and grey, with dark circles under them. Her face looked pale and emaciated, and her hair hung limp and tangled at her shoulders. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot, and her right cheek and wrists bore large, purple bruises. The sleeves of her shirt had been ripped off, and her arms had several thin gashes. She was barfoot, and her toes were bruised and her toenails were bleeding.

Though she had only been missing hours, she felt like it had been years. Jean-Paul had dragged her through the city, and few people noticed. He looked for all the world like a normal father dragging a disobedient daughter behind him. The hours she had spent in the evil, infested underground network of tunnels and chambers had taken its toll on the otherwise normal girl. She felt the darkness oppressing her every happy thought and stealing away her strength, feeding it to an unnamed monster.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

End Chapter Ten

Maahhhh… this is way too short, but I'm far too lazy to write more. HAHAHAHAH. Anyways, everyone sucks except for Jo-Ryan Salazar. Why? Because no one else reviews. I will take you off my you-suck list if you review….

I promise!

Unless you're Otoneil. For Otoneil eternally sucks.

Anyways, please review!

-Knife Thrower

P.S.: I'm not going to tell you what Projecter means. You want to know, look it up on your own damn time.


	11. Chapter 11

Broken Melody

Chapter 11

Projeter Omega

_"I'm just a kid, my life is a nightmare, I'm just a kid, I know that it's not fair, nobody cares 'cuz I'm alone in the world, nobody wants to be alone in the world," I'm Just a Kid- Simple Plan_

Well, chapter eleven is here! Oh, and all DOA fans should know what Projeter means by know. (Hint: DOA3) I still won't say what. I'm bored and listening to Reel Big Fish right now. Which is why I'm writing, I guess. Thanks to Jo-Ryan Salazar for always reviewing even though NO ONE ELSE DOES.

Standard disclaimers apply.

~~~~~~

A knock on her door in the middle of the night awoke Indigo. She stood beside the bed, leaning heavily on the night table. Staggering over to the door, she opened it cautiously. Outside, waiting nervously, were Maron and Chiaki.

"We need help," Maron whispered, and Indigo nodded and let them in without question.

She sat on her bed, arms crossed over her chest impatiently. Chiaki and Maron stood silently, like hovering ghosts. 

"We want to prepare for her next attack," Maron whispered, "And Chiaki just remembered something a demon-girl told him. But we can't figure out what it means, if it means anything," she finished in an even quieter voice.

"Well, what did she say?" Indigo said impatiently.

"'Anger management, Joe,', or something like that," Chiaki said shrugging. Indigo snapped her fingers, and her eyes lit up. 

"Could they make it _any _easier?' she said, and jumped up. She grapped a huge stack of paper and a pencil, and at the top of the first paper wrote 'ANGER MANAGEMENT, JOE' and underlined it. She then drew three lines, and, at the end of those lines, three names: Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, and Cate Blanchett. 

"That quote is from a movie, _Bandits, and those are the three stars." She said. She then drew a line under Bruce Willis's name, and, at the end of it, wrote 'DIE HARD'._

"When you think of Bruce Willis, most people think of Die Hard. It's a series of films, really good. So if we go from there, we think of Alan Rickman, his enemy in the first movie," she continued, and drew another line from Die Hard and ended the line with 'ALAN RICKMAN'. Then she drew another line down.

"When you think of Alan Rickman, a few might think of _Dogma, but the Catholic church banned that, so let's go with Harry Potter instead." She continued on, and drew yet another line that ended with 'HARRY POTTER'. "But once we get there, we're pretty much dead. Everyone else in those films are nobodies or dead. So, let's move on to Cate Blanchett, and come back to Billy Bob Thornton," she said. "OK, Cate Blanchett, so… _Lord of the Rings_! She's Galadriel!" she said excitedly, and under Cate Blanchett she drew a line that ended with LOTR._

"Now, we come to lots of people we can follow: Orlando Bloom, Viggo Mortenson, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Liv Tyler, Sean Bean, John Rhys-Davies, Christopher Lee, Sir Ian McKellen, and Hugo Weaving. Let's start with Hugo Weaving and go to… _The Matrix_. There we get Keanu, go to _Speed, get Sandra Bullock, go to __Miss Congeniality, get Candice Bergen, go to __Sweet Home Alabama, get Reese Witherspoon, go to…__ Election, get Matthew Broderick, go to __Ferris Bueller's Day Off, get Alan Ruck, and we're back to __Speed."_

She said all this while quickly drawing the lines and names, and how all this popped into her head so suddenly amazed Chiaki and Maron. Indigo sighed. 

"I can't think of anymore, so, let's go to Orlando Bloom, the sexiest man alive!" she said this very cheerfully, and went to work again.

"Right, Orlando Bloom, that leads us to _Black Hawk Down_ or _Pirates of the __Caribbean… let's go with __Pirates." She said, and drew the appropriate lines and names._

"Now, there, we have a choice: look into the plot or the actor that got first billing{1}, Johnny Depp, and follow him?" she said to herself. "We'll do both and see what fits."

"Now: the plot. They're pirates, they're cursed. When they step in the moonlight, you see them for what they really are: skeletons. That may be a clue to what we're up against." She said thoughtfully, and wrote that down.

"If we follow Johnny Depp, we get _What's Eating Gilbert Grape?,_ _Edward Scissorhands_, or _Benny and Joon_. Let's go with _Edward Scissorhands_. That leads us to…Winona Ryder or Tim Burton. Let's go with Winona Ryder. That leads us too _Mr. Deeds_, which leads us to Adam Sandler, which leads us to nothing."

Chiaki and Maron gaped at her as she aligned the numerous pages so the chart looked correct.

"Next, we get Tim Burton… that leads us to… _Mars Attacks!,_ so Pierce Brosnan, Jack Nicholson, Sarah Jessica Parker, or Natalie Portman. Natalie Protman gets us absolutely nowhere, so Jack Nicholson. That gets us to _The Shining,_ which gets us to Stephen King. Now, ther we get so much stuff it's not even funny. We'll take what he's most known for: _The Stand, Carrie, Cujo, Christine, Misery, Hearts in Atlantis, It, The Green Mile, Children of the Corn, and _Stand By Me_."_

She tapped her chin thoughtfully for a while. "I guess we can start with _The Stand_…" she said, trailing off.

"Now, that takes us to Gary Sinse or Laura San Giacomo. Gary Sinse takes us to _Forrest Gump_. That brings us to Tom Hanks or Robin Wright. Tom Hanks brings us to _The Green Mile or__ Cast Away. We'll go with _Cast Away, _but there we're kind of dead_._ So, Laura San Giacomo. That's _Quigley Down Under _or __Pretty Woman. In __Pretty Woman, the stars were Julia Roberts and Richard Gere. Richard Gere takes us to __Runaway Bride, also with Julia Roberts. They were tryiong to re-create the magic the two of them made on-screen in _Pretty Woman._"_

"Julia Roberts, then…" she trailed off again, thinking. "Either _Erin Brokavitch _or _America__'s Sweethearts."_

"_America's Sweethearts is a dead end, so __Erin Brokavitch." "Let's see…It's dead until I can look something up. So, let's go to __Carrie. It's a movie about this girl whose mom is a religious maniac. She locked Carrie in a closet for ten hours and forced her to pray because she got her period. She thought everything was evil. She was a real nutcase. Anyways, Carrie's a loser with telekinetic powers no one knows about, a popular boy asks her to the dance, she sneaks out, they throw pig blood on her to embarrass her, and she throws a hell of a telekinetic temper tantrum. She ends up killing everyone in town. Can we say PMS?"_

"Anyways, the actress we get there is Sissy Spacek. That's if we go with the old one; it was made in 1976, so… yeah. But anyways, she was in _Tuck Everlasting but that leads us nowhere. So we can go to __Carrie 2:The Rage or the new _Carrie._ We'll go with the new _Carrie,_"_

"So, Angela Bettis, who was in _Girl, Interrupted_. That means either Brittany Murphy, Winona Ryder, or Angelina Jolie. Angelina Jolie was in _Life or Something Like It_, with Edward Burns, which takes us to _Saving Private Ryan, so Matt Damon I guess, and then _The Bourne Identity_, so Julia Stiles and then _A Guy Thing_, and that means Selma Blair, so _Legally Blonde_ and Luke Wilson, which means _Charlie's Angels_ which is where we have Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu."_

She once again tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I think Drew Barrymore, sooooo… ummmm, _Riding in Cars with Boys_, which takes us to Steve Zahn, and he was in _That Thing You Do_. I love that movie! Anyways, that gets us Liv Tyler who was also in _The Lord of the Rings_, as Arwen. Anyways, I guess that means Viggo Mortenson, he played Aragorn, who was her husband by the end of the third book. Let's see here, Viggo Mortenson, Viggo Mortenson… Um, _A Perfect Murder, so Gwyenth Paltrow and __A_ View From the Top_, with Mike Myers, who was in all the _Austin Powers _movies. I guess we'll go with Heather Graham instead of Elizabeth Hurley, and then _Say it Isn't So_ and Sally Field in _Mrs. Doubtfire _with Pierce Brosnan, so __Die Another Day I guess, and then Halle Berry, so X-men, Hugh Jackman, to __Van Helsing, which comes out in 2004, and David Wenham who was in __Moulin Rouge! with Nicole Kidman, who was in _Practical Magic_ with Aidan Quinn in it, and he was in _Benny & Joon_ with Mary Stuart Masterson, and there I do believe we're finished." She said, looking at her chart._

"I don't get where they're trying to lead us, but I think our best finish was _Pirates_. Can you leave now? I'm tired," she asked them impatiently. The couple nodded, and crept silently off into the hallway, disappearing into the shadows like the master thieves they were. They did not glance back as they hurried out of the near-empty hospital, but if they had, they would have noticed that Indigo was not sleeping.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Indigo picked up the phone in her room, and took a deep breath. She dialed the number, and heard the long _beep that comes from making a long-distance call. The phone on the other line rang three times._

"Come on, Cameron, pick up," she muttered urgently.

"Hello?" a male voice answered sleepily as the phone was finally answered. "Who is this?

"Cameron? This is Indigo," she said quietly but happily.

"Indigo!" he shouted joyously, and she flinched. "Did Antonia tell you anything, because…"

"I don't know, she seemed to think you two were going out," she said as if it were nothing.

He snorted. "I dropped her off so she could see some damn chick flick, and when she called for a ride home, I didn't come." He told her honestly. "So, where are you right now?" he asked her, eager to get off the subject of Antonia.

"Well," she said slowly. "I'm in my dad's hospital," she finished in a small voice. 

"Why didn't you call me earlier?" he asked her in shock. "Are you OK? What happened?" he asked all these questions hurriedly and worriedly.

"I didn't call you earlier because my dad doesn't know you exist, and they were there all day and all last night." She told him weakly.

"So, you haven't asked him yet?" he asked her finally.

"No," she said.

"You didn't tell anyone why you agreed to come, did you?" he asked her accusingly.

"I didn't want to!" she said angrily. "I figured I could come, talk to my dad, and come back to you! I didn't see the point. But now things are… complicated." She finished slowly.

"Why are you in a hospital, anyways?" he asked her again.

"I was attacked…" she said, trailing off.

"By?" he asked her in an irritated voice.

"Stupid question," she pointed out.

"Oh," he said after a long pause. "So, you'll be there longer than you expected?" he said, not bothering to even attempt to hide his disappointment.

"Yeah," Indigo replied, not hiding her regret either.

"I could come over to Tokyo if you wanted," he offered after a long, silent moment. "They'd let me go."

"You wouldn't want to," she told him. "Antonia's here."

"I don't care if that bitch is there, I want to be there with you." He said firmly. "Besides, I need to meet your brother."

She snorted. "You don't want to, believe me." He laughed.

Their merriment was cut short as Indigo heard a distant shout from the other line.

"Cameron, where the hell are you, you faggot? Come here before I find you and kick your sorry ass out that door and to the streets where you belong! Is your little slut on the phone with you? Well, I'm glad a girl managed to catch your eye. You're a miracle, Cameron. The first ever walking fruit! You don't belong on the streets, you belong in a gay bar!" his mother screamed at him drunkenly.

"I have to go now," Cameron said sadly. "But I'll be there in three days,"

"Good," Indigo said, then added, "I need you. I think we should tell my dad together."

"Yeah," he said, and after a long pause, he said, "Well, I have to go before my mom sets the house on fire."

"I know," Indigo said. And then they hung up, and she fell back into her bed and instantly was asleep. Though her slumber was nowhere near peaceful; she dreamt of flames and death and destruction. Images of her past came to haunt her, blank, staring faces taunting her and hurting her. She also dreamt of the future of another girl who would shape the fate of the world based on her decision.

But when she awoke, she forgot what she had seen.

Chiaki shifted uneasily in his bed, the cool sheets tangling around his warm skin. He couldn't sleep; there were so many things he was thinking about. He knew there were plenty of things about Indigo that his father, and Indigo herself, were keeping from him. Something about Antonia was bugging him. It was as if he'd seen her before, but he didn't know where. Giving up on sleep, he sat up and thought.

And, far, far from their home in Tokyo, a French boy sat awake, bandaging and nursing the wounds his drunken mother had inflicted upon him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Marianna sat in her throne room, drumming her clawed fingers on the bone arm of her throne. Suddenly, two dark shapes appeared out of the shadows, and her black-stained lips spread into an evil smirk.

"Projeter, Omega, so good to see you. I see you've survived." She said as a welcoming, and the two figures stepped forward into the flickering light cast by flames licking at Marianna's feet.

Projeter and Omega were two deadly demons; monsters mutilated and perfected, killing machines. Projeter was shorter than her tall sister, Omega, though just as deadly. Her short red hair was smoothed back, held by a crown of thorns, and her grey, flat eyes stared emptily at her master. She wore knee-high black boots, tight fishnet stockings, and a red silk leotard with a black floaty skirt wrapped delicately around, the bow tied with the hair of one of her enemies. Omega stood tall and silent, her long, black hair twisted into a ponytail that fell from a bun at the top of her head. While her sister looked like some ballet dancer gone mad, Omega looked like a thief. She blended into the shadows easily, in her black vinyl shorts and black shirt that was tied at her shoulders with ribbons woven on a loom made of bones. She wore thigh-high boots, and a patch of her porcelain-white skin was visible between the boots and shorts. She wore satin, elbow-length black gloves, and Projeter wore red wrist-length leather ones. Both carried weapons, though they did not need them, for there were thousands of ways the could kill people without drawing a sword or knife.

Both demons were masters at thievery, killing, Black magic, and they were killers, born and bred. They had been put in dungeons to strengthen them, make them thinner and paler, until the time came when they would be unleashed upon the unsuspecting human world.

"We were summoned," Omega said simply. Projeter never spoke, and Omega said little, though she always spoke her mind. The two reminded Marianna of Hel and Loki, characters of Norse mythology. Loki was so cunning that he almost managed to keep himself from being imprisoned until Ragnorak{2}. In the end, though, Loki was cursed to stay chained up with venom dripping down onto his face. Hel was his daughter, goddess of the underworld. Half of her body was beautiful and perfect; the other half was dying, rotted flesh. She had tricked the other gods into letting her keep a god in her underworld until Ragnorak as well.

"Yes," Marianna said thoughtfully, "I do in fact need you assistance. I need you to wipe out those pathetic kaitous." She ordered them. Omega said what she was thinking.

"Consider it done,"

And with that, the two walked out of the room, and Marianna decided to think up different people they resembled; people or characters who came to better ends.

~~~~~~~

Omega and Projeter leaped silently across rooftops, despite their heeled boots. Suddenly, Omega stopped, her long legs pausing as she sniffed, much like a tracking dog. She held out her gloved arm, stopping her sister.

"I smell a change in the breeze," she said softly, "Dawn approaches." Projeter simply nodded, snapped her long, elegant fingers. She disappeared in a cloud of poisonous grey smoke, and, after a moment's hesitation, her sister did the same. For dawn brought the sunlight, and sunlight brought their doom.

And unlike phoenixes, they could not rise from their ashes.

They reappeared in the dark cave they had been banished to; they had grown accustomed to it over the centuries, and the only changes made were Marianna would send them food, and their crystal balls were returned to them. Actually, they were balls made of black pearl, but the correct spell could put them to good use; they could watch any human, any time. Yes, they were quite useful. Though Projeter usually used hers to spy on enemies, Omega used hers to spy on someone else. And, unbeknownst to anyone but herself, she spent long hours while her sister rested, staring at that special someone through the black pearl ball.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Indigo awoke in the morning to the sounds of doctors and nurses rushing to complete their duties. She yawned and stretched, picking up her sketchpad that had fallen to the floor. On a blank page, she sketched and colored a picture of an angel. He was very pale, with dark hair and sad blue eyes framed with red-tinted lashes. He was sitting at a school desk, reading, his facial structure perfect and elegant, his eyes mostly closed, perfectly shaped lips set in an eternal shape, mouthing a word. Only one with a great eye for detail would notice that the word he was mouthing was 'love'. Then she added the background; other desks with bland people; brown hair and brown eyes, average face shape, somewhat attractive people, all of them taunting the angel with smirks on their face. All of them, except one, a blonde girl with equally sad green eyes with glasses, who stood silent as the angel ignored the others, looking at him with an expression of pure longing on her face.

She looked at the picture, wondering where the inspiration had come from. Without hesitation, she added a teardrop falling down the blond girl's cheek. It only seemed fitting, after all. Then she put her art materials away and sat down to do another long day of thinking.

~~~~~~~~~~

Grr, this is short and late. I've been thrown off schedule. Bah, damn you Jerkman, you and your perfect eyes.

{1}First billing, second billing, or third billing applies to the order in which actors' names show up on-screen in the opening and/or closing titles. For example: Pirates of the Caribbean. Johnny Depp got first billing, because his name shows up first. Orlando Bloom(sexy man!) got third billing, and so on and so forth.

{2}Ragnorak is event in Norse mythology in which the world is shaken up and a whole bunch of other crap happens and the world is destroyed and then re-made. Loki will be freed, as will whatever god Hel trapped and all this other junk. I can't remember all of it, I'm thinking of doing parts of this story that are connected to Norse gods and goddesses.

BTW, the picture Indigo drew is something that I guess takes place in my calss. I am the crying girl, and Jerkman is the angel. He has been occupying most of my waking and sleeping thoughts recently. Damnit. But, anyways, please review. 

I'm going to go and try not to be sick anymore. How could I get sick? I probably got it from school, that place is like a giant germpool.

-Knife thrower


	12. Autor's Note about Hiatus

Dear Readers,

I don't know why I'm writing this. Perhaps I believe that those few readers that do review deserve an explanation for my absence- and absence that may remain that way, leaving Deus Ex Machina unfinished. The whole time I was writing it, from beginning to most recent chapters, I was struggling with my feelings for a bo0y that doesn't feel the same. It was difficult, and stillis. Now, though, I have friends to help me; comfort me. I have friends to tell me things that make me stop the tears.

But, God, is it painful, feeling this way.

But it's even more painful because I know, I _know, that no matter what I do, he will never feel the same. _Never_. Writing is supposed to be a creative outlet, so I suppose I stopped writing Deus Ex Machina because I didn't want to end up making it to dark and depressing than it's supposed to be. Also, I found that I couldn't bear to write about happy couples perfectly in love. I just… couldn't. And, as for the time being, I still can't._

Another thing I'm struggling with is controlling _it. And __it is the me- the REAL me that people **never see. The ne that manages to give myself a cut on my knee with a floppy disc just because I hated myself. The me that loves the pain that my nails can give my arms- the me that doesn't fear the sharpness of an unfolded paper clip scratching. The me that didn't notice the bleeding on my toe; the me that didn't notice the cuts on my legs until much later.**_

The me that is losing the will to live.

I know this sounds crazy, but, God, I am. At least, I think I am. I don't know how to put it… It's hard to describe. Sometimes life is happy, but in my house, with my life, _it never lasts_. And people just can't understand why I feel this way. To them, I am the luckiest girl in the world. To them, I am the straight-A student with a perfect family. To them, I am the girl who loves video games. To them, I am just another girl.

Yeah. I'm the luckiest girl in the world. 

If I'm so lucky, then why do I hate my life so much?

Maybe it's because my parents hate me. Maybe it's because I can't tell them that I don't want to- and _won't_ go to college. Maybe it's because they don't understand me, they don't and won't accept me. They like to pretend that if they don't accept who I am, then I will change. Maybe I hate my life because of my dead grandmother, my dying grandmother, and my dead great-grandfather. Maybe I hate my life because no one is like me, so no one understands what it's like.

I'd like to _think_ that I can blame Travis. I'd like to think that this is all his fault. But I don't think it is. So what can I do? Nothing.

I can just welcome the pain.

Now, I must coin a phrase as my signature;

Erstwhile Delight.

Erstwhile means in the past or formerly- at a former time. Delight at a former time. Formerly I felt delight. Not anymore.

And so, "The Luckiest Girl in the World" bids you goodbye.

And I hope that you never know from real experience what Erstwhile Delight means.

-Knife thrower.


	13. Chapter 12

Deus ex Machina(formerly Broken Melody)

{Machine of the Gods}

Chapter 12

Everything Sucks

 "_I know, everything sucks yeah. I know, everything sucks, whoa…" Everything Sucks- _Reel Big Fish- Turn the Radio Off!

OK, so I changed the title. Maybe it will attract more reviewers… anyways, you'll forgive me. I could not think of a thing for the song quote, but hey! I guess it goes with Antonia… I used to like her, but now, for some reason, I don't. Maybe because she's just plain psycho. Whatever, who cares…

Oh, _Deus ex Machina_ is a phrase in Latin that means _machine of the gods_. See, in Latin, the adjective comes first. It's a phrase used to describe the ending of the film- how everything is solved. A Deus ex Machina ending has a new character, new-found ability, or sudden twist in the protagonist or the antagonist to make everything work out to be perfect. Think Sailor Moon or _Bandits_, but that's stretching it. The 'Machine of the gods' part refers to the fact that whatever saves the character is perfect and indestructible. A movie without such an ending is resolved based on the character's wit, quick thinking, and strength. Think _Die Hard_. John used the tape to save his ass. I'm using this in a later part of the story. I think.

Please review. I appreciate all the reviews that I got when I was writing this and Chapter Thirteen but hadn't posted them Chapter thirteen is still in the works.

QUESTION: Should I shorten my chapters ad post more frequently, or keep them long and post when they're finished? If I shortened them, I would probably have a weekly update-schedule again. Review and tell me!

~~~~~~~~~

Indigo sat straight up in bed, her hair brushed back into a ponytail. Her face was devoid of any emotion, though she had taken care to cover up her many bruises with make-up. Her back rested lightly against the headboard of the hospital bed, and her hands were folded in her lap. The doctors stood in front of her, droning on and on about how she was still far too weak to return to school.

"I am returning to school tomorrow," she told them firmly. "Nothing you can say or do will stop me."

Her refusal to do what they wanted shocked the doctors. They were used to stubborn patients, but Indigo did not want to remain in bed, it seemed. She simply wanted to get on with her life. She wanted to pretend that nothing had happened; but what the doctors weren't telling her could change her life forever.

"But you've lost too much blood," a doctor tried to tell her. He was new, and this was her first day working with her, so he didn't know what she was like. She raised a delicate eyebrow and stared at him.

"And you have apparently lost too many brain cells," she told him scornfully, "Do I have to repeat myself yet again? If I have to, I will climb out that window to go back to school. And seeing as that would worsen my condition, I suggest you don't force me to resort to that." 

Once again, her determination surprised them, but they knew there was nothing they could do.

"Your bodyguard will pick you up tomorrow morning." A doctor said after a minute of talking with the others. Indigo smiled.

"I knew I'd break you." The doctor glared at her. The others filed out of the room, muttering under their breath. But the doctor that had spoken stayed and looked at Indigo.

"You know you might get sick," he said, trying in vain to convince her to stay. She snorted and stared at him with a level expression.

"I have been sick plenty of times," she said delicately, dancing around the truth. "You can't scare me."

The doctor turned on his heel and walked out of the room without another word.

~~~~~~

Maron sat at her desk in school, pretending to pay attention. People kept on throwing sideways glances at her and whispering when she passed in the hallways. They passed notes about her, stared at her. It was like they were looking for any signs of mental insecurities. She walked from class to class with her head down, her hair hiding her face. She spoke to no one, and the only words she said that day were to the teachers, answering their questions. Indigo, despite all of her statements, did not show up for school. Chiaki didn't seem bothered by anything, and the girls kept on crowding around him and flirting, since Miyako was sick.

Maron tried to control her jealousy. She didn't even look at him, and, for the first time in weeks, focused fully on her schoolwork. Gymnastics practice was canceled that day, so she headed home to work on her homework, just in case there was a checkmate that night. Chiaki was slowed down somewhat by the girls chasing him. Eventually, he caught up with her and the other girls hid around the corner. He casually draped his arm over her shoulders and pulled her gently closer to him. The girls in the background all began sobbing and ran home to cry into their pillows.

"Did you do that because you wanted to or to make them cry?" Maron asked him, and for once she didn't smack him or run off.

"A little of both," he said, grinning childishly. 

And they walked to their apartments, talking and laughing. Later, Chiaki was in his apartment, trying to do his homework for once, and his phone rang, for once.

"Hello?" he asked as he picked it up.

"Hi, Chiaki, this is Indigo," Indigo said. "I was wondering if you could do me a big favor…" she trailed off.

"What do you _want_?" he asked her with a sigh.

"Could you drive me to the airport tomorrow?" she asked him. "Today's Friday, so you don't have school…" she trailed off again. She seemed to be doing a lot of that.

"I can't drive," he told her scornfully. "Besides, are you planning on leaving?" he asked her.

"Damn." She said in reply to his statement. "No, I'm not going anywhere. Someone's coming here." She told him, and the happiness in her voice became apparent. 

"Who?" he asked, unable to hide his curiosity. She ignored his question.

"Well, could you ask Dad for me? He'll say yes to you but no to me," she asked him, pleading slightly now. He gave up.

"Fine, fine, I'll ask Dad, but if you buy a ticket to France, I'll tell Dad and he'll probably follow you." He warned her.

"Idiot," she muttered, and hung up on him. He shrugged, and called Kaiki.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, Indigo waited outside the apartment building, and a driver-person drove up. He stared at her outfit, even though she was dressed in Japanese street fashion; wearing loose black boots, black knee-high socks, pink fishnets, a denim skirt with a pink frill at the bottom, a black belt with fake stones in it and a pink silk rose attached, a black shirt with a pink outline of a girl, pink baggy arm-warmers, a black choker, and huge pink hoops. She glared at him and slid into the backseat.

"The airport, please," she said, and nervously tugged up her boots. The rest of the drive went by in silence. When they arrived, she opened the door, stepped out, and on second thought leaned back in.

"Wait here," she told the driver, and he nodded mutely. She walked briskly through the crowds to a certain area, and waited with the other people. She began singing an American song under her breath.

"It's been a long time since I've been close to you, it's been a long time since I've been sad, it's been a while since I've really spent time with you, wish I could take back the times that I had. The only thing that you ever really did for me is made me oh so miserable…" she trailed off at the glare of some adult, but when they turned their back, she flipped them off with both fingers, holding them out for lots of people to see. After that, not many people bugged her. 

Finally, passengers off the plane began walking slowly out. One tall, black-haired boy caught Indigo's eye. She ran toward him, ignoring the glares of the people she pushed aside. She threw herself at him in a huge hug, and then pulled back to look at him.

"You've gotten taller, jerk," she said jokingly, and slapped his shoulder playfully. He grinned at her.

"Even with those boots on, I'm still taller than you," he told her triumphantly. They walked off, talking, with his arm wrapped protectively around her waist. They got his luggage, and went over to the car. They slid in, and Indigo told the driver to take them, not back to the apartment building, but to the hospital. He said nothing, and didn't even nod, but took them there. They stepped out, and Indigo told the driver he could go, they would walk back. He didn't nod, just drove off as soon as he could. Indigo shook her head, her blue pigtails smacking the boy, Cameron, in the face.

They walked, hand in hand, into the building, and then Indigo dragged him up to Kaiki's office. She knocked feebly on the door, her former good mode disappearing into an anxious manner. 

"Come in," Kaiki called, his voice muffled by the thickness of the door. Cameron reached over and swung the door open, and the couple stepped in. Kaiki looked up in surprise. Indigo and Cameron sat down in the chairs in front of his desk. 

"This… probably looks… weird." Indigo said slowly, casting about in her mind to find the right words.

"No shit, Sherlock," Cameron muttered under his breath, and she elbowed him in the ribs sharply.

"I'm inclined to agree with… him," Kaiki said, trying to see if he could guess Cameron's name.

"Dad, this is Cameron," Indigo said, took a deep breath, and continued. "He's my boyfriend from France. Well, he's from America, but he lived there when I did." She told him.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Kaiki asked his daughter accusingly. 

"It's a really long story," she told him honestly. "Though I'm assuming you want to know, so I'll tell you. I guess it all started when…" she trailed off.

And for the first time, she told her story.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Projeter and Omega readied themselves. It was almost dark, and through their obsidian balls, they had seen Indigo and the boy return home. All three kaitous were preparing themselves for a battle that some sense had told them was about to occur. Omega bared her fangs, and said something in a strange language to her sister, and then they left their caves. After they left, a messenger sidled up to Marianna cautiously.

"Madam," he whispered to her, "Projeter and Omega are our strongest forces." He told her, and she looked at him quizzically.

"What do you mean?" she snapped at him.

"Well, in those centuries they were locked away, they trained. And Jean-Paul just killed our special forces. They're all we've got left." He told her.

In an indescribable rage, Marianna stabbed the messenger through with her claws, ripping them out of his corpse and stabbing him over and over again, until his body was little more that bones, blood, and a few shreds of skin. Then she ripped out his heart, and threw it with that same rage at the stone wall. It splattered, staining the wall with blood as the few remaining shreds slid down onto the ground. The demons watching all hurried out of the room as Marianna cursed Jean-Paul's existence and soul.

Meanwhile, Projeter and Omega were preparing for their challenge today. They strapped long-swords to their hips and tied daggers to their shoulders and thighs. Omega struck a fighting stance, then slowly curled her left leg up so her foot was resting on her slightly bent right knee. One of her arms was bent so that her wrist was curved in front of her, but her other arm was curled above her head. Her eyes twinkled like dark stars beneath her black bangs, and suddenly, a green beam of waving light grew between her hands so she was holding a beam of magic between her hands. Her leg dropped and her arms fell down so they were held right in front of her. She floated into the air, her head tossed back limply. Suddenly, the light died, and her limp form fell to the ground with a sick thud. Projeter ran to her sister's side, but it was in vain.

There was no point trying to talk to Omega because Omega wasn't alive anymore.

~~~~~~~~~~~

This chapter is supposed to raise questions; how did Omega die? How did Jean-Paul get away? I'm tossing this weird idea around in my head, but I don't think I'll actually put it in the story. Just to let you know, Indigo has many secrets. Lots of them. There is more to come, including another kidnapping, Indigo becoming possessed again, and a spiff(or shit)-tacular fight scene.

Baaah. Damn you Otoneil. Damn you for knowing how I feel and not giving a fuck. Damn you for fucking up the perfect shield I had put around myself to fucking protect myself to what happened. Now my life sucks and I don't give a fuck. Why not? Because you don't give a fuck about me.

God. I'm miserable. Why do you have to have that perfect smile that lights up your fucking beautiful face and makes you look like some sort of… perfect angel? Fuck. There isn't a fucking point. Why? Because you will never fucking feel the same. For once in my life, I am fucking resisting summer. Three fucking months without him… what the hell am I supposed to do? I don't even have his fucking phone number!

Now, please fucking review. My arm hurts enough from those damn scratches, and Alyssa's starting to get suspicious. Plus I haven't been eating lunch. Err, right. Yeah. So fucking review before I become fucking anorexic.

-The Tourniquet. And, to those that e-mailed me, I'm sorry that I haven't replied. If you're reading this, I would like you to know that Hotmail let me log in ONCE, then I had to get off and it wouldn't let me log in agan.

As a warning: one week in August I will be in Mexico. Three days after we get back from that, I will be on a three-day vacation with my family again. I will not have access to any computers in Mexico, and I will have severely limited access on the second trip. So, I won't do much writing in August, I just wanted you to know.

I appreciate all the reviews I got, and all those people who don't know me but are helping me work through this. Thank you.

(and yes, the rating *is* going up after that. Right. Indigo has a mouth not unlike my own, so. Mhm. Right.)


End file.
